Unleashed
by 13thsense
Summary: If there were no laws, rules, morale, ethics, or even your own intellect, to hold you back? Would you live out your darkest desires, or just lay down and die?
1. Visit to the Dentist

** 1 – Visit to the Dentist**

**Sup people. You've probably noticed that I deleted "Playing by the Playbook". I didn't hit a writer's block or anything, but I was stuck in a rut. Everything was just repeating itself. I literally couldn't bring myself to write it anymore. Well here's the first chapter if my new story, it's short, but you know the drill. Enjoy!**

**And I apparently don't own anything other than my real world possessions, which do not include the POM characters.**

The day after the events of "The Job", Kowalski was sitting on a chair in Alexander's exhibit. His flippers, legs and abdomen were restrained with leather belts and his beak was held open by a metal mouth prop. Kowalski didn't look like he was enjoying it one bit, when the monitor was working on something on the inside of the bird's beak.

˝So, let me get this straight, Doris left you after you were too nice to her?˝ Alexander asked.

˝Uh-huh.˝

˝And then you tried getting drunk on jawbreakers, which, justified their name, and broke your beak.˝

˝Uh-huh.˝

˝Man, it's like talking to Rico,˝ the reptile pulled a final layer of orange epoxy resin and then put the brush down. ˝There, good as new,˝ he released the restraints, ˝though personally I would've gone with the scarred look.˝

The penguin, as soon as he could, jumped out of the chair and pulled out the mouth prop out of his beak. With all his force, he smashed it against the ground and then felt shivers going up his spine.

˝You've got to get over your phobia, it's really something that can control your life. Besides, I'm not a dentist.˝

Kowalski calmed down, ˝I know, that's why I came to you in the first place. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return to the HQ and inflict pain onto Rico.˝ He turned around and began walking towards the exit, ˝As a fellow scientist, you're welcome to join me.˝

˝Eh, what the hell, I'm a sadist anyway, so why not,˝ he rushed to catch up with his feathered teammate and they left together.

**I know it's not much to start with, but I have to get the wheels rolling. It will justify the genre I have given it.**


	2. Let Loose

**2 – Let Loose**

**Hey there. I've changed the title, because it just didn't express the power I wanted it to. Enjoy!**

Inside the penguin HQ, Skipper and Private were playing a game of chess. The small penguin was just learning the ropes to the mentally challenging board game, but he did seem to enjoy himself.

Meanwhile on the other side of the metal door, that somehow, always seems to lead somewhere else, were Kowalski and Alexander, performing some experiments on Rico. Right now, that meant observing him and taking notes as their mohawk wielding friend held and ice cube on his tongue.

˝Hmm, it seems that neither two isopropyl five methylcyclohexanol nor two hundred times more potent one two hydroxyphenyl four three nitrophenyl three six dihydropyrimidin two one, can render the effects of eight Methyl-˝

˝OH FOR PETE'S SAKE! Stop using IUPAC names already and just say menthol, icilin and capsaicin!˝ snapped the monitor.

The smart bird watched his clearly frustrated friend, ˝Very well, *clears throat* now as I was saying before being so rudely interrupted, the cold sensation caused by the first two, does not outweigh the hot sensation caused by capsaicin,˝ he then walked over to some test tubes and took one that held a white liquid.

˝Here Rico, drink this,˝ the maniac frantically shook his head. ˝Don't worry, it's just milk. It will neutralize the capsaicin.˝ He didn't have to say anything else. Rico snatched the test tube and quickly emptied it. He finished with a sigh, which was followed by a burp.

˝Can't believe you couldn't handle that. I thought you were tougher,˝ the maniac let out a snarl at the reptile. ˝Calm down, talk about sensitive.˝

Rico continued shooting a glare at the medic, but seeing him supporting himself on the table with one hand, a wicked idea came to his mind. He quickly regurgitated a baseball bat, which he used to smash the reptile's hand.

Once hit, Alexander pulled back and let out a grunt in pain. Rico grinned, but the lizard just looked him in the eyes and formed his own signature evil smile. The monitor began pulling on each finger of the smashed hand, to set the bones, but silence remained between the two.

Kowalski gulped fearing the worst and decided to intervene, ˝Now please calm down you two. Were all vertebrates here, no need to fight… but if you do, do it outside my lab,˝ he muttered that last part under his breath.

Rico and Alexander both looked at Kowalski and then back to each other, before breaking out in laughter. ˝Fight? Yeah right, what do you think we are, chicks?˝ replied the monitor while wiping off a single tear.

The genius bird wiped his forehead, ˝Good, now that that's cleared, we can proceed to my next invention.˝ He waddled over to a corner and came back with a cooling box, with a hose attached to it, that had a colander and a magnet on the end. ˝Gentleman, may I present, the De-Gowser 2.0; the IQ thief.˝

His two team mates exchanged confused looks, before shrugging and humoring their friend with a few, unenthusiastic, claps each.

˝Thank you, thank you,˝ Kowalski did a few bows.

˝Ok, I'll pop the question, what does it do?˝ asked the skeptical lizard.

˝I'm glad you asked. The 1.0 model had cardboard box, this one has a cooling box made of Styrofoam. It can contain brain waves up to 87.65 percent more efficiently. And while the old machine only removed your brain power. You could have an IQ as high as mine, but just couldn't use it, but this one actually removes your intellect. From Einstein to Hilton in 2.8 seconds.˝

˝Sounds interesting and physically impossible, let's start,˝ Alexander stepped next to Kowalski as he aimed the device at Rico. The maniac did nothing but stand there, as a blue beam, with a pink spiral in its midst, engulfed him. He remained like that for a few seconds until the genius bird stopped.

The two scientists observed their subject and Kowalski pulled out his clipboard, ˝Subject seems unaffected. Rico, what do you get if you mix toluene with sulfuric and nitric acid?˝

The maniac scratched his head, then shrugged, ˝Uh, I dunno, kablamo?˝

˝Hmm, subject seems to be actually experiencing increased intellect, fascinating.˝

˝Or maybe we found out the lowest level it can stoop the IQ to,˝ suggested the reptile. ˝Perhaps we need a subject that has a little more wits,˝ he threw a malevolent look at Kowalski, who gulped in response.

Alexander grabbed the taller bird and got him in a full nelson, ˝Fire away Rico.˝ The mohawk wielding penguin grabbed the hose and began charging it. Kowalski wasn't exactly thrilled with being the test subject. He raised his flippers straight up and simply slipped out of the hold and rolled out of the way. The beam hit the reptile instead. Who knows what left his head in that moment, but everyone was about to find out what stayed behind.

He received concerned looks from his team mates. ˝Uh, you Ok?˝ asked Rico and then slowly approached the reptile. He gave him a slight tap on the shoulder. The lizard's eyes shot open, but there was something different, they were red instead of the dark shade of brown. He fell forward and stood on all four legs now, and to top it all off, he began sticking out his forked tongue.

˝Eureka! It worked, he has returned to his primitive reptilian brain,˝ exclaimed the genius bird. But something seemed different; he had a strange look he was throwing at Kowalski. ˝Excuse me, but why are you looking at me like thaAAA!˝ Alexander pounced on the penguin and pinned him down. He slowly opened his jaws, filled with numerous sharp teeth, mostly hidden within the gums. The bird's heartbeat slowed down, his entire life played off in front of his eyes… man he needs to get out more.

With a grunt, the reptile was sent flying against the wall. Kowalski looked up and saw that it was Rico who proved to be his savior. He held a baseball bat in one flipper and was offering the other one to help him up.

The genius bird happily accepted the help, ˝Thanks, now back to you!˝ he said pointing at the monitor, who was already up and hissing. ˝Oh don't you his at me. Stand still and take back your intellect.˝

No response came from the supposed medic, ˝Fine, have it your way. Rico, restrain!˝ The maniac regurgitated a penguin-sized straitjacket and pounced on Alexander. The two rolled around on the floor and after stopping, Rico was revealed to be the one wearing the jacket. The monitor looked at the bird still standing and slowly began walking towards him.

Kowalski made a step backwards, every time the monitor made one forward. After reaching the wall, he began moving right, towards the door, but it was foolish, he wouldn't reach it. But he did feel something on his side. He looked and saw a small fire extinguisher. He quickly did the math in his head, 'Coldblooded reptile, plus really cold carbon dioxide, equals one really slow or sleeping lizard'.

He grabbed the device and pulled out the safety pin. Alexander stopped, he wasn't too stupid to figure out, that that thing was obviously a weapon. The two had a stare down, the penguin clearly the only one nervous. He activated the fire fighting weapon and a stream of white gas flew towards the lizard. But he dodged it and, while the visibility was decreased, escaped through the door.

He ran past Skipper and Private who were still in the middle of their game. ˝Oh hey Alexandah, where's Kowalski?˝

˝*HIS*,˝ was the reptile's only answer as he scaled the ladder towards the exit.

˝So you don't know,˝ replied the captain, ˝Oh well, Your turn Private.˝

The lizard left and closed the hatch behind him. ˝Umm, Skippah, did Alexandah seem, I don't know, odd to you?˝

˝Well now that you mention it, how doesn't he know where that egghead went?.˝

Right then, Kowalski burst out of his lab with Rico, who was still in his straitjacket, at his side. ˝WHERE'S THE MONITOR?˝ he received the attention of the chess-playing penguins.

˝Don't you have a computer monitor in your lab?˝ asked the leader

˝Not that monitor, I'm talking about the bloodthirsty, mentally drained, melanism carrying reptile we have on our team as a medic.˝

˝Oh, well you just missed him, he went outside.˝

˝Sweet Marie Curie, we have to stop him now!˝

Jugging by the tone his lieutenant spoke in, Skipper knew this was serious, ˝Right! Everyone, topside, now!˝ The penguins left their HQ and jumped out onto the top of the ice floe. ˝We have to find that lizard AS – AAAAH!˝ a female scream interrupted him.

˝That's odd, since when do we have a female lemur in the zoo?˝ asked Kowalski.

His leader just rolled his eyes, ˝Let's go!˝ he ordered and they all raced over to the habitat of their western neighbors… I know, hard to believe, right? What they found there, were a terrified Julien and Maurice, shaking, holding each other, but no Mort in sight.

**MELANISM, look it up and review!**


	3. The Escape

**3 – The Escape**

**Thanks for the reviews everybody and enjoy!**

Another scream of terror came from their right and they slid right over. On the other side of the rock, on which the lemur king's throne rested, they found Alexander, cornering the mouse lemur. Mort was shaking and holding his tail.

The monitor opened his jaws, ready to swallow the little guy in one gulp, ˝Steve Irwin, upper jaw lasso, GO!˝ Rico hacked up a rope and threw it to his captain, the lead penguin then used it to catch the reptile's upper jaw.

The lizard stopped, unable to finish his action, he instead began fighting the snare. Skipper held it firmly, but his footing was slowly giving way and a trail of dirt was being left behind. The remaining birds saw his situation and jumped in to help out. ˝Mort! Get out of there!˝ the tinny lemur let out a yelp and began running.

Alexander followed his path with his head and broke the rope tension with that, all the birds fell back on their backs and as they began getting back up, they saw the black reptile run past them and then climb over the wall of the habitat.

˝Blasted, we need to contain him now. Kowalski, what's his most probable destination?˝

The genius bird pulled out his abacus and moved some beads, ˝Assuming he will behave similar as our last reptilian menace Savio, he would most likely go to Marlene's˝

Skipper's eyes widened, but they didn't stay like that for long, a dead serious look replaced the expression and he was already on his way. The remaining birds had a hard time following him, seeing that he was already entering the girl's cave when the rest of them barely scaled the wall.

˝MARLENE! MARLENE!˝ he called entering her home.

˝WHAT?˝ she screamed, being startled out of her nap.

The lead penguin ran up to her and gave her a big hug, ˝I'm so glad you're Ok,˝ he whispered.

The otter didn't really get his concern, but she went with it and hugged back, ˝Don't worry, I'm fine.˝

Skipper sensed his team mates coming right behind him, they already knew about his relationship with Marlene, but a guy can't look soft in front of his friends. He broke out of the embrace and turned to the opening.

The three penguins entered and immediately formed their battle stances, ˝At ease men, he isn't here,˝ reassured Skipper. ˝Rico, I want you to secure the sewer entrance,˝ the maniac began spitting bolts and did as ordered, ˝Excellent work Rico.˝

˝Uh, guys? What's going on here?˝ asked Marlene, still slightly confused.

˝Don't worry Marlene, it's just Alexan-˝ the chubby bird was cut off by Kowalski who grabbed his beak shut.

˝Ahem, what the Private was trying to say was that it's nothing important. Any problems a unit has, is taken care by that unit. Come on men, we have a reptile to catch,˝ the penguins slid out of the otter cave and left the enclosure.

Marlene followed the out and watched them disappear, ˝I wonder what that was all about?˝ she turned around and was startled by a black figure, but thankfully, it wasn't the monitor.

˝Hey Marlene,˝ greeted Iris after descending from the tree inside the otter habitat. ˝Did Skipper tell you anything?˝

Marlene looked her in the eyes and saw the concern in them, ˝No, why? What's going on?˝

She hesitated at first, but then spoke up, ˝Oh, I don't know, I was just up in my nest, when I heard some screams, so I took my binoculars and saw Alex, I mean Alexander chasing the lemurs. At first, I thought it was one of captain Skipper's orders, but he looked strange, he cornered Mort, like he actually planned on eating him, I wanted to fly down and stop him, but thankfully the penguins came first.˝

˝Hmm, that IS trange... wait, wait, wait, Alex?˝

The raven rubbed the back of her head, ˝Yeah, well actually, he hates it when I call him that, he says it sounds too girly.˝

Meanwhile, at the zoo gates, they were open and a black water monitor began walking out on all fours. He was continuously sticking out his forked tongue, picking up different molecules and carrying them to his Jacobson's organ. Every critter outside that could end up on his plate.

He began making his way through the endless fields of grass, he felt its softness and watched the poetic beauty of nature, but he just didn't care. Does a wild animal even require anything beyond the satisfaction of psysilogicial and safety needs. If we go by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, does an animal express the need for love or belonging, perhaps if you're a herd or pack animal or perhaps a pet, but I'm pretty sure that it stops there.

He picked something up, sweat, the owner of the odor is scared, tired or under stress, it's close, and, what's that… could it be, blood? He's hurt. He marched through the lawn and a small building soon came into view. He approached it, not fearing the animal's escape possibility.

Back with the penguins, ˝He's not in the koala habitat either,˝ reported Private.

˝Fudge cakes! Kowalski, is there any other place we could check?˝

˝Sorry Skipper, but no, he isn't anywhere inside the zoo, OF COURSE!˝ he pulled out his clipboard and went over some pages, ˝That's it! How could I gave missed this.˝ He turned it around so the remaining birds could see the badly drawn sketches, ˝Even with only the primal urges programmed into ones brain, any predator would, search for a new, better hunting ground, if his current one doesn't satisfy his needs.˝

Skipper waited with a stern expression on his face.

Kowalski sighed, ˝He went out into the park.˝

˝Why didn't you just say so? Let's slide!˝ ordered the captain, they went off as fast as they could and left through the zoo gates. ˝Four fowl totem pole!˝ Rico took the bottom position and the rest jumped on him, forming something similar to the attack stack. The maniac regurgitated binoculars for each one and they began searching for the loose reptile.

And after two seconds, ˝I've got nothing,˝ said the leader and received replies of agreement from the rest of the team. They broke formation, ˝What the heck did you do to the guy anyway?˝

˝Nothing special,˝ replied Kowalski, ˝Just brought his intelligence quotient down to Rico's level.˝

˝EY!˝ squawked Rico, angrily.

˝Ok, but that doesn't really explain his rampage.˝

˝I'm not sure, whatever is affecting his behavior right now, has nothing to do with my machine. I have two theories. The first, Alexander is an evil psychopath, who has been keeping himself at bay until he was stripped of his intellect and his bloodthirsty side completely took over.˝

Kowalski explained it by slowly picking up talking speed, in the end Private was shaking, while Rico and Skipper stood there and just stared. ˝And, uh, what is the other explanation?˝ asked the captain.

˝Well, reptiles are one of the more ancient classes of animals. Evolution had barely worked on some of them in millions of years. So perhaps his brain has just re-set itself to only consider the most simple actions and desires, namely eating, sleeping and mating.˝

The captain scratched his bottom beak, both were possible, but maybe it was the sun or something, when he decided to rather believe the second than the first. ˝Ok, here's what we're going to do, we will set up patrols in the park in the more populated areas.˝

˝Rico and Kowalski, you take the dumpsters, Private, you're looking over the pond and I'll stay at the zoo.˝ But before heading out, they armed themselves for the following night. Kowalski filled Rico with all sorts of chemicals and weapons. Private got his shrub disguise back and was ready to blend in. Each of them also received a wireless Bluetooth handy to stay in touch.

Night had already dropped its veil of darkness when they finished, ˝Is everyone ready?˝ asked Skipper and received a single nod, from each team member. They were on the top of the zoo clock tower, ˝Good, head out, and call at any sight of monitor activity.˝ The three birds saluted and left. Skipper watched as they disappeared from his field of vision and then let out a sigh.

˝I mustn't hesitate to take out one of my own,˝ he said to himself, ˝But how do you kill someone who can just heal every wound?˝

**I'm going to kill some animals in the next few chapters, but remember, that "Chainsaw" and this story aren't related, other than by author. Also, it won't be any of the main cast. **


	4. Distracted Eyes

**4 – Distracted Eyes**

**So… let's see, Karenkook asked me why mating stuck out in the previous chapter? Well it wasn't intended, this thing isn't going in that direction. I just think, that passing on its genetic material is one of the most, if not D most, important instinct an animal has.**

**Next, I prefer "Commando" Eggy over Julien Eggy, so I'll be sticking with him.**

**Well, that's all, enjoy!**

Skipper stood atop the clock tower like a rock, nothing could break his focus, nothing, ˝Hey Skipper!˝ but perhaps someone would do the job. The lead penguin turned around to see the female otter, which came for a visit.

˝Oh hey there Marlene, what brings you up here?˝ he turned around and continued his watch with his binoculars. The visit was a nice gesture, but he was busy.

˝Oh nothing special,˝ she replied walking over to him, ˝I just thought, that you could use some company.˝

˝I'd appreciate it very much, thank you, but I'm afraid, that it would affect my concentration so I am forced to decline the offer,˝ Skipper hated himself for saying that, but he thought it was more or less true.

˝Right, I think you can let your girlfriend keep you company,˝ said Marlene with a smirk. Skipper looked her in the eyes and returned the gesture. They both sat down, with their feet dangling over the edge of the tower, and the captain wrapped a flipper around his girl. ˝So… are you going to tell me what you're looking out for?˝

Tell the truth and let her worry, or keep it secret and, ˝Classified.˝

˝Ok, fine by me. And what's wrong with Alexander?˝

˝One of Kowalski's stupid inventions again, now that reptile's on a I MEAN, classified,˝ did he say too much already? Wait, how does she know it's about the monitor and, ˝Why are you concerned about my medic?˝ he asked with a small hint of jealousy in his voice.

˝Actually, I'm not. Iris wanted me to find out, that's why I came here.˝

˝Oh,˝ he took his flipper back, ˝Well if that's all, I have to tend back to my lookout duty.˝ He stood up and brought the binoculars back to his eyes. But he was interrupted by a pair of arms that wrapped themselves around his neck.

˝I said I came here, because of the raven, but I'm staying for my own reasons.˝

Meanwhile, at the pond, a pair of lenses was sticking out of a bush. They were aimed directly at the sleeping mother duck and her ducklings. ˝One, two and three,˝ the Private counted. It made him so happy and gave him inner peace seeing such cute little yellow balls of fur, ˝Wait… three?˝

He looked again and did a re-count, ˝Wait, where's Eggy?˝ he was suddenly struck from the side and thrown out of his shrub disguise. ˝Ouchy,˝ me muttered, rubbing his cheek and began looking for the source of the attack.

˝Sowwy about that mistah Private,˝ the chubby penguin looked down and saw the missing duckling, ˝I thought you were a child molester.˝

˝Me? A molester? Ph come now little Eggy, that's just silly,˝ replied Private with a wide smile. He couldn't stay mad at the little duckling; he was just trying to protect his family.

˝I know, but I didn't know it was you.˝

˝It's no biggie, now why don't you run off back to your mommy, so I can return to my job,˝ he tried shooing away the hatchling, but made the wrong choice of words.

˝What mission? Is it dangerous? Are you alone? Did Skippah send you? Do you need a wingman? You know I can totally watch your back and we can…˝

'Oh dear,' thought the Private, 'how can I get myself out of this aggro? What would Skippah do?' He gave it a thought and yawned and stretched, ˝No need for that Eggy,˝ he scratched his side, ˝My shift's over. The cows came home long ago and I need to get some rest. *Yawn*, you should do the same.˝

The hatchling frowned and let out a sigh, ˝Ok mistah Private,˝ with his head down, he walked back to his mother and took a spot next to her warm body. Private made sure he was asleep again and then returned to his watch. He jumped into his disguise and once again stuck out the binoculars' lenses.

But after about five minutes of peace, leaf rustling, coming ever closer and in a steady intervals, was heard. Private looked in its direction and spotted a subshrub approaching him. It stopped about a foot away from him and a single lens stuck out of it.

˝Psst, nice acting you did before, let's hope it get's this guy we're looking for out of his hiding spot,˝ said the small bush, while a combination of a slap and leaf rustling was heard from the larger one.

Meanwhile at the dumpsters, Kowalski had an annoyed look on his face, ˝Could you please stop eating all this garbage, I am certain that it will affect your physical health in a negative manner.˝ Rico frowned and took a half smoked cigar, which he was just about to eat, out of his beak. The two chose a trash can as their hiding spot, but perhaps it wasn't the best idea.

First, because of the stench, and second, the bin began shaking, ˝Erdquaik!˝ yelled Rico. He jumped onto the ground and covered the back of his head.

˝In this part of the planet and at this time, I highly doubt it,˝ Kowalski replied completely calm, but the aluminum container soon began falling over, and before the two knew it, they rolled across the ground together with the trash they were standing on.

The lieutenant let out a sigh and then stood up. He began dusting himself off. ˝Boy, those are either the oldest eggs ever, or the freshest chicken of all time,˝ said someone from behind. The genius bird turned around, only to be left speechless.

There were two least weasels (Mustela nivalis) the one on the left was obviously a male, he had golden brown fur, a slim body, no muscles sticking out, and a colorful headband, tied around his head. His eyes were half closed (you know, the bored look).

But Kowalski didn't even notice him, his eyes, instead, stayed locked on the female next to him. She was falun red weasel with a beaded bracelet, which served as a necklace, around her neck, and, what looked like, a belt around her waist with a peace sign belt buckle.

But where the smart bird saw beauty, the maniac next to him, saw something completely different, ˝Hippies!˝ he exclaimed and regurgitated a bowling pin. He caught Kowalski's attention and the lieutenant quickly tackled him, ˝No!˝ to keep him from doing something stupid.

The two weasels watched the penguins rolling around on the ground. ˝Cool, all natural sun block,˝ commented the male. ˝You see my brother, those two are totally aware of the pollution the humans cause with their chemistry and choose to go the natural way instead.˝

'Wow, even her voice is angelic,' Kowalski thought, still trying to get Rico in a submission hold, but, doubting his abilities, he decided to warn them instead, ˝Uh I think you two might want to leave. It's not that I don't enjoy your company, but my friend has an, err, anger management problem,˝ he added the widest, fakest, smile he could muster up.

˝Oh society, where have you pushed us to? A world where the wild have to be tamed and the beautiful have to stay hidden,˝ said the female and then grabbed her brother's hand, ˝Come, let's continue the quest the universe has blessed us with. The two left and Rico calmed down when he couldn't see them anymore.

The penguins stood up and Rico dusted himself, ˝Aw man, wy u do dat fow?˝ he asked his comrade in an angry tone. But when he looked at him, he saw the dreamy look in his eyes, ˝Uh, hello?˝ he waved his flipper in front of the taller bird's eyes, but it did nothing.

One way or another, everyone was distracted that night, but it didn't matter anyways. The action wasn't there. Rare crimes take place in front of such large crowds. That's why, in a small warehouse located in the Central park, a predator was waiting for its next kill. He was standing in the shadows, watching his prey.

A short, gray, omnivorous mammal also known as a raccoon, he removed his gloves, boots, hat and quiver and put down his bow as well, ˝Stupid dogs,˝ he muttered and grabbed his side, he was bleeding slightly. Alexander watched the crimson liquid leave a splatter with each drop and his mouth began watering.

But he was neither hungry nor in danger, as he readied himself for the attack. This kill would not be to satisfy his physiological needs. The water monitor charged out of the darkness and caught the raccoon completely off guard. He bit an arm and began shaking his head furiously. His teeth slowly cut into the raccoon's flesh and the reptile's mouth filled with a warm liquid.

He hurled the small mammal against a nearby wall and slowly began walking towards him.

**I would be very grateful if I could get some name suggestions for the hippie siblings. They weren't really planed, the story kinda wrote itself there and I just went with it. Hope you liked it and review!**


	5. Changing Tactics

**5 – Changing Tactics**

**Do you think, I should change the genre to horror, instead of crime? Personally, I don't know, but that shouldn't concern you, just enjoy it!**

Archie felt the full force of the impact and his vision went blank for a second. When it finally returned, he looked up and saw the water monitor coming in for a sure kill. He tried getting up, but was stopped as an overwhelming pain, in his left arm, struck him. He grabbed it and took a look; the wound was incredibly deep, almost to the bone.

He looked back at the reptile, who came to a stop, he just stood there and waited, he knew his toxic saliva, combined with the blood loss, would eventually kill the small mammal, but like I said, he wasn't hungry, and he didn't want to wait. Poison doesn't connect you to your victim and it's the coward's way out of the torture we call life.

He made a few steps closer and looked down at Archie; he had a look of sheer terror on his face, while the monitor kept a blank, wild animal, expression. He raised one of his front legs, showing off his sharp claws. Nature didn't intend them for cutting flesh, he sharpened them, for that purpose, himself, he preferred to use them over a surgical scalpel; it just felt more personal that way.

Time seemed to stop for the raccoon as the clawed appendage came down on him, and left a long gash on his abdomen. He couldn't even bring himself to scream, as dear had paralyzed his diaphragm. Alexander dug his head right into the abdominopelvic cavity and, with his mouth, he began pulling out the small intestine.

Sometime, during his work, Archie died, but the reptile didn't notice, until he had finished. The raccoon's guts were stretched out across the floor and he made a few steps back to observe his masterpiece. Being a wild animal now, he couldn't enjoy it, his expression stayed the same, but why had he done it then, it just seemed like a waste now. Let the scavengers feast on the carrion, and let the predator remain the executioner.

On the clock tower, some time later, Skipper was still wide-awake, keeping lookout over the residents of the park. Marlene had long fallen asleep, but her company was pleasant while it lasted though. The captain put down the binoculars and let out a sigh, ˝Well that was a complete waste of a goodnight's worth of sleep.˝

_ ˝Skipper, come in! Can you hear me?˝_

'Oh shitake mushroom,' thought the leader, he shouldn't have praised the day before sunset, or in this case, the night before daybreak. He reached for the Bluetooth handy, ˝What is it Kowalski, have you spotted Alexander?˝

_˝Yes, I mean, no, I mean, I don't know, well it could be-˝_

˝Just spill it already, man! Have you, or have you not, seen him with your own two eyes?˝

_ ˝No.˝_

˝Then what is it?˝

_ ˝Rico and I were keeping watch over the dumpsters, when we suddenly heard a female scream, we raced to it and soon arrived at the warehouse, but no one was there. The door to the building was slightly open, so out of curiosity, the two of us peeked inside and saw a trail of blood. I suspect that, whoever did that, could still be inside.˝_

˝It could be Alexander, but that's not important right now, a crime is a crime. Call Private, I'll meet you there in three,˝ he heard Marlene's loud snore, ˝Uh, make that five. There's someone I have to get to bed first.˝ He waddled over to the sleeping otter and picked her up bridal stile, she instinctively wrapped her arms around the penguin's neck, and the two proceeded towards the Asian otter exhibit.

He jumped of the top of the clock tower, and landed without a sound, he waddled with the girl still asleep. He looked at her, not even hearing the killer… snore (bet I got you there), it brought a smile across his face. The two soon got to the exhibit and Skipper jumped across the pool and entered her cave. He carried her to her bed and laid her down there.

He tucked her in and gave her peck on the cheek, before turning around and sliding out of the cave. 'As long as the monitor is in the park, you're going to be safe Marlene,' he thought and soon passed the zoo gates. After the promised five minutes, Skipper arrived at the warehouse, but he quickly noticed someone missing, ˝Where's the Private?˝

˝I'm here,˝ he arrived and began panting due to exhaustion, when he stopped. ˝Sorry for the delay, but sneaking of turned out to be harder that I thought.

Back, at the pond, there were still two shrubs standing, the larger one, with two lenses sticking out of it, and the smaller, with only one. ˝You see anything yet mistah Private?˝ asked the smaller bush, but received no answer, ˝Hmm, you know what, you're right, we bettah stay quiet.˝

Back with the penguins, ˝Ok, so that's the plan, any questions?˝ every bird but Skipper raised a flipper, ˝Good, follow me.˝ He kicked the door, sending it swinging back on its hinges and the full horror of the scenery hit them. Blood and intestine were spilled across the floor, the captain's eyes widened, he wanted to shield the Private from the horror, but he couldn't protect him forever, the kid had to see the cruelty of the world some day.

They all let down their guards and slowly waddled towards the disemboweled raccoon. On the edge of the blood spill, they stopped and just stared for a minute. Private felt his dinner coming up and he turned away, he couldn't bare to look at the massacre any longer.

˝Kowalski, analysis,˝ Skipper ordered, but his voice just didn't contain the leadership it normally does.

The lieutenant shook himself out of his state shock. Rico regurgitated a metal tool box which he put down and opened for the genius penguin. Kowalski pulled out a cue stick and wiped some of the crimson fluid off the floor and put a few drops of Luminol on it. It began faintly glowing, ˝Just as I suspected, it is definitely blood.˝

The captain rolled his eyes, ˝Geez Kowalski, and here I thought, that Archie no-guts was already pointing out the obvious. How about you tell us something that we could use?˝

The lieutenant ignored the remark and continued with his work; he took a thermometer a stuck it into the body, deep into the chest cavity, through the diaphragm, ˝I would estimate the time of death about two, perhaps two and a half, hours ago.˝

˝Wait, that doesn't make sense, we already had patrols set up then, that means we would've seen the murderer leave,˝ deducted the captain. They exchanged looks and then went back-to-back and raised their flippers in a defensive position. They all stayed silent, ˝Ok, maybe he's not here after all. Kowalski, is there any way of finding out if our *gulp* former medic, did this?˝

The tall bird took a magnifying glass to take a closer look, at the wound, ˝The cuts seemed to have been executed with surgical precision and with an incredibly sharp blade. So, yes, I do believe it was the work of Alexander.˝

The private let out a yelp of fear and covered his beak with his flippers.

˝But wait, didn't you say your machine took away his intellect, how did he know how to cut Archie open like that?˝

˝Skipper, the intellect of a person only affects the learning speed of the individual and his response in a new situation, nothing else. He still has all his medical knowledge and who knows what else?˝

The lead penguin clenched his beak, but then let out a sigh, ˝I guess we have no choice, but to initiate the "Black Hole" protocol. We will begin the relocation of all the park residents into the zoo.˝

˝But Skipper, don't you think that's a little-˝

˝TWO HOURS KOWALSKI! He had two hours and still left Archie like he did.˝

Kowalski looked over to the body and then back to his leader, ˝Very well, let us begin.˝ Three penguins exited the warehouse, leaving only their leader behind.

Skipper stood there, looking at the corpse in silence, ˝What kind of sick mind would even consider something like this?˝ He stayed there, attempting to get inside the head of the killer, but he just couldn't perform a psychological autopsy, he lacked the education, but he did know someone who could.

**Why did I call it "Black Hole Protocol"? Because, just like the gravitational pull of the quantum singularity absorbs everything around it, the Central park zoo will take in every animal in the park, provided, it is in reach. Who would you rather see, or read, dead, Fred, Antonio or Max? Their pathetic lives, are in your hands. Review!**


	6. As Promised

**6 – As Promised**

**The votes have been cast. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.**

˝Hello? Is anybody there?˝ Skipper asked, standing in front of a touch screen cell phone, back in the HQ. He was attempting to establish a video chat with someone.

˝Ja, guten Tag, wie kann ich Ihnen behilflich sein?˝ a roadrunner appeared on the other side, sporting a beard, with a wide grin across his beak.

The captain raised an eyebrow, and just waited for the tomfoolery to end. The bird eventually took off the beard, ˝Ok, Ok, what is it?˝

˝Actually, I was hoping to speak to the flightless mammal,˝ the penguin said.

˝Okay, I'll be right back,˝ he pretended to go down some stairs, disappearing from the camera and came back with the genet, ˝ What is it?˝

˝I might have a slight problem concerning the water monitor… again,˝ explained Skipper.

˝Maybe you should just keep him on a leash,˝ Ovid suggested, his words followed by his own chuckle.

˝What problems exactly?˝ Clemens, the more serious of the two, asked.

The captain let out a sigh, ˝There was a lab accident, or an experiment gone wrong, something about taking away his intellect, and now your former leader is somewhere out there on a rampage. He's already killed once, that we know of, and I was wondering if there's anything you can tell us, that might be helpful.˝

The genet and the roadrunner had shocked expressions on their faces. They exchanged looks, and then, without even saying goodbye, they ended the video transmission. Skipper attempted re-dialing the number, but no one picked up on the other side.

He decided to see how things were coming along. He jumped out through the fishbowl entrance and saw his men directing animals towards the reptile house. Rico was waving two glow sticks, Private was greeting everyone at the entrance and Kowalski was performing a census of all the park residents.

A pair of baby raccoons entered last and the genius bird made another check on his clipboard. Skipper walked up to him, ˝Do we even have enough room to accommodate everyone?˝

˝Actually yes,˝ replied the lieutenant, ˝Due to the fact, that numerous reptile collectors bought up most of the reptile house inhabitants, we have plenty of space.˝

The captain scratched his bottom beak, ˝And when exactly did this happen?˝

Kowalski checked some papers on his clipboard, ˝Uh, I'm not exactly sure, Savio, on our restocking day, and everyone else, with the exception of the water monitor and the chameleons, sometime during our trip to Rochester.˝

˝Strange, those reptiles were all dangerous criminals, I thought command center was supposed to inform us on things like that… But anyway, do we have everyone?˝

˝I believe so, no wait, Fred is missing and someone called Antonio,˝ Kowalski replied, it wasn't completely true, he was missing the weasel he had met a few hours ago while on patrol, but nobody seemed to know anything about her.

˝Then let's head out and search for them. Private, you stay with Rico and make sure everyone's comfortable, while Kowalski and I are gone.˝

˝Aye aye Skippah,˝ the chubby penguin slid off towards his mohawk wielding team mate, and the other two headed out as well. It must be quite terrifying, to know, that behind each corner, the murderer could be waiting for you, but it was two against one and they both had military training, so they had nothing to fear… probably.

The squirrel's tree soon came into view and they came to a stop, ˝Fred! Fred! Are you there?˝

A big-toothed, bushy-tailed rodent looked out of the hole in the tree, with a rather bored look in his eyes, but that was what he usually looked like, ˝Oh hey guys, how's it going?˝ he greeted, waving.

˝Fred, why haven't you left for the zoo?˝ Skipper asked.

˝We have a zoo?˝

The two penguins refrained themselves from face palming, ˝Why yes,˝ tried Kowalski, ˝You were there, remember? It's where your former girlfriend lives.˝ The captain clenched his beak, angry of the reminder.

˝Oh yeah, that's right, how's she doing?˝

˝She's doing fine!˝ the lead penguin snapped, ˝Now come, all civilians are requested to go to the zoo for their own safety.˝

˝Ok,˝ Fred replied, receiving smiles from the two birds, but he didn't move, he just stayed in place, looking at them.

˝WELL?˝ asked the, more than just slightly irritated, Kowalski.

˝What?˝

˝Are you coming?˝

˝Why would I, I'm a squirrel, not a civilian,˝ this time, wills of steel couldn't stop them, both penguins slapped their foreheads.

Meanwhile back at the zoo, or more accurately, the Asian otter exhibit, the zoo's females, well smaller females, were having a tea party. ˝Does anybody know what's with all the refuges?˝ Marlene asked.

˝Maybe,˝ began Becky, ˝The penguins are planning a,˝ Stacy continued, ˝Super exciting – And amazing – PARTY!˝they both screamed, forcing the all remaining females to cover their ears, almost all of them.

˝Is that yelling really necessary?˝ Iris asked, uncovering her ear-slits (see what I meant), ˝I doubt the penguins would ever plan a party of any sort.˝

˝Actually,˝ the otter interrupted, ˝They did help Julien when he was having a mental breakdown and from what I heard, they did throw an awesome Christmas party sometime before I arrived.˝

˝We should have one of those sometime, it would help you guys relieve the stress,˝ suggested Sienna, ˝Because, I've got my own methods,˝ she said with a smirk.

It sent shivers up Marlene's spine, ˝We really didn't have to know that.˝

˝Why, don't you ever do it with Skipper?˝

˝No! I mean, not yet, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't right now,˝ she avoided eye contact, mumbling that last part.

˝Oh, well, you shouldn't worry about it,˝ the raven gave her a few pats on the back, ˝At least we animals have the covert type, I can't imagine what it feels like in a human's overt kind.˝

Back with Skipper and Kowalski, ˝Wait, so you're telling me, that the planet's getting warmer due to greenhouse gasses?˝ Fred asked even more confused and clueless than he normally is.

˝How did we even manage to get to this conversation topic,˝ Skipper asked himself, slowly shaking his head.

˝NO, you scientific explanation defying example of stupidity! No living creature has the power to actually warm up a planet, it's preposterous, it's obvious, and supported by my own measurements, that the Earth is getting closer to its own star,˝ the lieutenant managed to say all that in one breath and was panting now.

˝But wait,˝ began the rodent again, but after being "shot" by a glare from the scientist, he got slightly scared and knew it was best to just go with them. ˝Never mind,˝ he jumped out of his home, ˝No wait.˝

˝WHAT?˝ snapped the lieutenant, even scaring his captain a little.

˝Uh, you wanted Antonio, right?˝

Kowalski felt bad for his reaction, ˝Yes, that would be welcome.˝

Fred stuck his head into the bush beneath his tree and then looked back at Kowalski, ˝I don't think he's coming.˝

˝And why not,˝ Skipper asked, impatient.

˝He lost his head,˝ replied the squirrel, causing the penguins to exchange confused looks. ˝You mean, he has lost his good sense or judgment due to the presence of a strong emotion?˝ Kowalski tried.

˝No.˝

˝Then spill it! What do you mean mammal?˝ interrogated Skipper.

˝I mean what I said,˝ Fred parted the bush, so the birds could see. The two stepped closer and were struck with the smell of rancid meat. It made them avert their beaks and caused their eyes to water. Bracing themselves, they tried again. They leaned into the bush and saw a deteriorating corpse. Flies were swarming above it and maggots had already infested the flesh.

˝Kowalski, analysis!˝

˝Judging by *holds back lunch, that was coming up*, from this distance, I would say that the decomposition is way too advanced to have been Alexander's kill… unless, he has managed to obtain some new bacteria in his saliva, something that produces enough heat, that every other germ or fungal would begin rapidly spreading.˝

˝Anything else? Like the fact that he doesn't have a HEAD?˝

˝I thought you said I shouldn't point out the obvious, besides, he doesn't have paws either,˝ the genius bird scoffed and crossed his flippers on his chest.

Meanwhile, at the Bronx zoo, three animals were getting ready for something serious. Each had a backpack, together with some other, more personal, tools. The roadrunner covered the entire underside of his wings with throwing knives, the genet placed a longbow and a quiver on his back and the flying fox, loaded some "heavy machinery" on their SES.

˝Why did you call me again, I was on a date,˝ complained Dmitry.

˝Yeah, but who was taking whom out,˝ asked Ovid.

The bat groaned, ˝Calm down man,˝ tried Clemens, ˝She's beautiful and all, but if we ever get into trouble, I'd rather have her cover my back than you.˝

˝You're over exaggerating.˝

˝She's a scimitar oryx,˝ the bird attempted to reason with his friend, and upon not receiving a reply, it had obviously worked. ˝Okay, do we have everything?˝

˝The knives?˝ asked Clemens and they each pulled out a black M16 EDC Spear Point knife, ˝Good. *Sigh* Are we really doing this?˝

˝They were his orders, he said we have to. But I didn't think he could actually predict the scenario,˝ replied Ovid.

**I was thinking, perhaps I should give the hippies some earth names like Blooming Flower or sth. instead? It was just a thought, anyways, review!**


	7. Reforming Teams

**7 – Reforming Teams**

**Sup people, here I am again, thanks for the reviews, and enjoy!**

Skipper and Kowalski, thankfully, found a garbage bag and transported the dead otter back to HQ, where they laid him onto their makeshift table. The captain escorted Fred to the reptile house and in the mean time, the lieutenant began with the autopsy.

He opened the garbage bag and green fumes of stench literally poured out of it, but the genius bird was prepared, he had a gas mask on. It's true it somewhat obstructed his sight, but it was a price he gladly paid. He put on some gloves and first took some swipes, from several parts of the body, with a q-tip and transferred them to a gelatinous base to create larger colonies.

After that, he could finally concentrate on the body itself. He took notes, but it wasn't anything he hadn't expected to find. Soon Skipper joined him, with a gas mask of his own. ˝Status report Kowalski,˝ demanded the leader.

˝Paws removed ante-mortem, they almost seem to have been sawn off. I presume by Alexander's teeth,˝ began the lieutenant. ˝Blades of grass and dirt in the wound indicate, that the victim was trying to crawl away even with the damage sustained.˝

˝Poor sap, he never stood a chance,˝ Skipper slowly shook his head, ˝Anything else?˝

˝Yes, the decapitation wasn't performed in a single strike, but with several smaller cuts from the same tool as Archie's abdominal laceration, probably his claws. He tactically avoided every major blood vessel to keep him alive as long as possible, but the first strike, around the neck area, seemed to have been dealt to the spine, severing the spinal cord, paralyzing our otter here.˝

˝Any theories on the choice of death, wouldn't it be easier to just, I don't know, break his neck?˝ the leader asked.

˝Absolutely, but I think I have the answer, he removed the head and paws to keep the victim anonymous. Without a dental record, paw prints, or a record in the DNA database, we wouldn't be able to identify the victim, but thanks to Fred, we avoided that scenario.˝

˝Well, at least that rodent did one good thing in his life, but you don't think, that he's aware of all his actions, do you?˝ Skipper asked referring to Alexander.

˝I'm not sure anymore, he isn't following the natural instincts of a wild animal. My guess is, just little bit better, than anyone else's.˝ The remaining two birds jumped into the HQ. Private immediately grabbed his beak and his eyes began watering, while Rico didn't seem to be bothered at all by the stench.

˝Oh… oh… that's just nasty. Who cut the cheese? Somebody open the windows,˝ the chubby bird waddled over to one of the portholes, forgetting that they were underwater and therefore, didn't even contain hinges which would allow them to swing on.

Skipper was grateful that the Private hadn't seen the body and he planned to keep it that way, ˝Rico, crematorium scenario, the table!˝ ordered the captain, and backed off. The maniac regurgitated his purple and orange flamethrower and unleashed hell on the body.

The fur was the first to go, soon followed by the fat, which made everybody hungry. The muscles turned to charcoal and the organic parts of the bones coagulated, taking away their flexibility. Only a smoldering skeleton remained.

Skipper looked towards the windows, to see the smallest penguin still struggling with them. ˝Rico, baseball bat!˝ the maniac hacked up the requested item and threw it to his leader. The captain began smashing the skeleton, destroying any evidence, that it ever existed.

The chubby bird finally gave up and walked over to the table, it seemed that the flames had at least burned up some of the unpleasant molecules in the air. But it was still more or less inhospitable, so the birds decided to go out and let some fresh air inside.

On the top of the floe, Skipper sniffed his armpit and turned away in disgust, ˝Men, I think be need a shower,˝ he suggested. The combination of smoke and the methane from the corpse really sunk into their feathers. They jumped into the water, and each did a few laps before jumping out and letting out some sighs.

˝Just what the doctor ordered,˝ spoke Kowalski.

˝Speaking of doctors,˝ Skipper began, ˝I thought you didn't have medical training.˝

˝Anyone can be a pathologist, I mean, the worst thing you can do there is bring someone back to live, right?˝ replied the scientist.

˝Wait, someone *gulp* died?˝ asked the Private and threw a sad look at his captain.

'Stupid Kowalski,' thought Skipper, as if seeing the disemboweled raccoon wasn't bad enough, now he was about to find out about Antonio as well, despite his best efforts, ˝Err… no?˝

The chubby penguin turned his head to the side, doubting his leader's answer, but then smiled again, ˝Okay!˝

˝Great! Kowalski, back to business, I need a foolproof fool proofed plan to find, capture and contain the water monitor, now shower me with options.˝

The genius bird pulled out his clipboard and went over some pages, ˝We could divide into two teams and -˝

˝NO DIVIDING! I don't want anyone getting overpowered by him. We'll stick together as the team we are,˝ Skipper interrupted.

˝Very well then, but taking into calculation the size of the park, our travelling speed and bathroom breaks, we'd still need at least 17.59 hours to scan the entire area. And that would make the death toll, if he continues in a linear incline, 7 and 3 elevenths of an animal, before we even find him. Unless of course we accidentally stumble upon him sooner.˝

The leader thought about it, the area really was a too big for the four of them to search. What they needed was, ˝What if we find another team to help us.˝

The lieutenant pulled out his abacus and moved some beads, ˝That would, due to the competition, that involuntarily arises between two opposing teams, more than halve our search time. But the question remains, where do we find another group of animals, who can work well together and adapt in new situations.˝

˝How about the Bronx' team,˝ the captain suggested, ˝although to be honest, I think they'd hesitate using force against their former leader.˝

Kowalski moved some more beads, ˝And they'd never get here in time.˝ His eyes then focused on something behind his leader, the cave of the otter habitat, ˝Of course! We don't need those guys, we can use our girls. They've already shown that they can work together, back when they freed us from hold of that seductress, and I am certain, that they would prove invaluable allies once again.˝

Before Skipper could say anything, Kowalski already raced off and was followed by the other two penguins. The captain hesitated for a bit, but then slid behind as well. Unlike Skipper, Kowalski actually knocked before rudely entering the otter's cave, ˝Marlene! Marlene!˝ he called.

The girls' tea party was interrupted, but their expressions weren't angry ones, ˝Hey Kowalski what's up?˝ greeted the homeowner. He was soon joined by the rest of the crew.

˝I require your services and those of your team,˝ he replied.

˝I don't think I know what you're talking about.˝

˝Oh, right, pardon me, what I meant to say was, that I require you to reform your team and aid us in capturing Alexander.˝

˝Why would you need to capture him?˝ Iris stood up, expecting some long awaited answers.

˝Forget it Kowalski, she can't do it,˝ Skipper jumped in.

˝Why not?˝

˝Because the drug didn't work, she still goes feral outside the zoo,˝ explained the captain. All eyes fell on Marlene, who looked away and blushed in embarrassment. The two decided to keep it a secret, they didn't want the other penguins to think the trip had been for nothing, ˝and without a captain, a team can't function.˝ Skipper waddled over to his girlfriend and gave her a comforting hug, which she happily accepted.

Silence filled the cave, until the raven spoke up again, ˝What about me? I'm the only girl around here that has military training anyway, why can't I lead the team, that is, if they even accept me.˝

˝Of course you're part of the team,˝ began Stacy, ˝Yeah, we girls have to stick together,˝ Becky finished.

˝Yeah, you're welcome to join and you've got my vote as leader,˝ spoke the wildcat.

Iris smiled, ˝Thanks girls, but before we begin, I'd like a briefing abou-˝

˝Hold it right there,˝ interrupted Skipper, ˝this recruiting was done behind my back. I don't want any civilians pulled into this mess, and especially not girls.˝ He felt an icy chill crawling up his spine, and since he was a penguin, used to the cold, it did scare him. He looked around the cave and saw the angry glares the females were shooting at him.

˝Hehe, *gulp*, I mean, every help is welcome, as long as you allow us to suit you up and you don't act alone if you spot the reptile.˝

**How'd you like, if you even did? Why am I updating this fast? Well, next week's gonna be hell in school and the week after I'm going to Klagenfurt, for a week, which means two weeks of writing build up. Anyways, review!**


	8. The Never Ending Gender Rivalry

**8 – The Never-ending Gender Rivalry**

**Thanks for the reviews and enjoy!**

Marlene finished cleaning up her cave. The others had just left her behind after they found out she was still zoo-bound. She let out a sigh and leaned the otter-sized broom against the cave wall. She left her home and stepped out into the sunlight. It felt nice, the sun's warmth against her fur, she smiled, but her expression didn't stay like that, it was transformed back into a frown after once again remembering the recent event.

She walked over to the grass in her enclosure and made it around to the back, where the wall was much lower. She could've gotten over it anywhere, but with the mood, that she was in, she couldn't bring herself to it.

With her head looking down to the ground beneath her, she walked towards the northern outer wall. She scaled it and once on top she looked out into the park. She stretched out one of her paws, reaching past the zoo's boundaries.

The fur on the appendage ruffled up and sharp claws shot out of her fingertips. She quickly pulled it back and cradled the paw. It was scary, the thought of not being able to control oneself… perhaps it was how Alexander was feeling right now.

Underneath the not so shifting (artificial) ice, Kowalski was just finished preparing everything for the girls. ˝The one four phenylene diamine and terephthaloyl chloride polyamide, will provide mobility as well as protection with its para-aramid properties.˝

˝Huh?˝ all the girls asked simultaneously.

˝*Groan* The Kevlar bodysuit will allow you to move as you normally do and protect you from any lethal blows,˝ the scientist once again explained.

˝Yeah, not to mention we totally look hot in them,˝ pointed out Stacy, striking a modeling pose and was soon joined by her twin. As Kowalski observed them he had to admit, he could've made the black skintight suits slightly bigger, but they did emphasize the curves more this way.

˝Ahem, I will also require you to carry these around with you at all time,˝ he took a small metal briefcase, which he opened for them. Inside were four syringes, ˝They contain an industrial strength antibiotic. In case of a bite from the monitor-˝

˝Please refer to him as Alexander. He's still our friend,˝ demanded Iris.

˝Right, in case of a bite from Alexander, you will have to inject yourself with one of these, directly into the heart, so it can get around the body as fast as possible. My analysis of the swabs have shown several bacteria, which could cause a lot of damage if not treated quickly,˝ each of the females took a syringe, ˝you will find a specifically designed container on the right sides of your belts.˝

They found it and put them away. ˝And now for the weapons,˝ the raven turned her head away at sound of the penguin, she couldn't even imagine hurting the water monitor.

˝No thanks,˝ Sienna said, ˝I'll go with what nature gave me.˝ She raised her paws and revealed he formerly concealed claws.

˝That won't work, he will regenerate from any wound, unless mortal. What you need is to either contain him or slow him down,˝ Kowalski took another briefcase from the table and opened it. Inside were two wrist mountable devices. He handed one to each of the badgers.

˝Becky, yours contains ammonium chloride, and Stacy, you have barium hydroxide octa-hydrate. Individually, the two crystals don't do anything, but when mixed, they produce an extreme endothermic reaction, which drops the temperature well below the freezing point of water.˝

˝Okay, THANKS!˝ they both said at the same time.

Kowalski smiled and then turned to Sienna and Iris, ˝Once slowed down, you two will knock him out with tranquilizer darts.˝ He handed each of them a small dart-gun. Armed and ready, they all left the HQ and joined up with Private and Rico who were patiently waiting at the zoo gates.

The moment the mohawk wielding bird spotted his feline girlfriend, his beak dropped and he began panting like a dog, or perhaps a wolf, considering the fact, that he howled afterwards. He received a slap to the back of the head, surprisingly, by Private.

˝Wow, that felt good, no wonder you guys do it all the time,˝ Private said. Standing at the gates, the chubby penguin just had to ask, ˝Kowalski, what are we waiting for?˝

˝Skipper, he said he had to say goodbye to Marlene before we leave.˝

˝Wait, does that mean – we're waiting for him – why don't WE just go – and you can check your portion of the park later,˝ suggested the alternating badger sisters.

˝NO! The orders are clear, wait for the captain,˝ Kowalski replied.

˝What's the matter, afraid a girl will show you up?˝ Sienna asked with a smirk.

˝Absolutely not! I just think, that we should-˝

˝Come on girls, let's go!˝ Iris ordered and flew, just few feet above the ground, so the rest of the team could follow her.

˝No wait!˝ the genius bird pointlessly called, but they were either out of hearing range or didn't want to listen. Either way, this meant, ˝*Sigh*, I'm in so much trouble.˝

Meanwhile, on the northern wall, Marlene sat, still looking at the endless plains of grass, ˝I thought I'd find you here,˝ she turned to find the lead penguin approaching.

˝Skipper, it's you. Shouldn't you be out there searching for Alexander?˝

˝They're waiting for me at the gates. Besides, I couldn't just leave without saying goodbye to my favorite girl.˝

Marlene smirked, ˝And just how many are there?˝ she asked, joking of course.

˝I only need the one,˝ he waddled over to her and sat beside her. He wrapped his flipper around her waist and she leaned her head on his shoulder, presuming, that he has them. The two sat there in silence, for several minutes.

˝I'm sorry, that the drug didn't work,˝ the otter said.

Skipper turned towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders. He looked her straight in the eyes, ˝Listen carefully to what I have to say; it's not your fault, you hear me? Do not blame yourself.˝ The penguin then gave her a kiss, which only lasted a few seconds, ˝I have to get going or they'll leave without me.˝

He got up and waddled away, leaving the otter, at least a little bit more cheerful, than she was before. She smiled watching him leave, despite the fact, that it meant she would be alone at the zoo with no one to talk to. The loud lemur music suddenly filled the air and she grabbed her ears due to the volume, ˝Well, no one NORMAL to talk to.˝

Skipper headed towards the zoo exit and spotted his team. Kowalski seemed on edge, like he was trying to hide from something, and seeing, that the girls were nowhere in sight, he quickly deducted the reasons for his behavior. ˝Where is team Double X?˝

Kowalski gulped, nervously before answering, ˝Well I think we can hardly call them that anymore. They've substituted their leader and besides, Iris is a bird, just like us, that means she doesn't have two X gender chromosomes, she has a W and Z,˝ he finished with a grin, but struck Skipper's cast-iron glare.

˝Private!˝ the leader called and the chubby bird followed suit, giving his taller teammate a slap.

The genius bird rubbed his cheek and then went with the truth, ˝They ran off before you arrived, I couldn't reason with them. They think this is a game.˝

˝That's exactly WHY I didn't want them out there, but at least Marlene's safe.˝

˝EY!˝ squawked Rico, angrily.

˝Don't worry, I'm sure your girlfriend's going to be okay to. Kowalski, is there any way we can contact them?˝ Skipper asked.

˝Yes, I forgot to mention to them that there are Bluetooth earphones in the containers on the left side of their belts. Let's hope they find them.˝

˝I'm sure they will Kowalski, as long as they're under the leadership of a responsible military trained soldier, they have my full trust,˝ Skipper proudly proclaimed.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the park, the view closes in on flower, a white powder is seen falling on it, and after a second long pause, a seemingly identical powder continues, soon, drops of a white liquid form on parts of the flower and it slowly withers. The view then backs up, revealing the two badgers playing with the devices they were trusted with.

˝Aw, that's so sad,˝ Becky said.

˝Yeah, why'd you have to kill the flower?˝ Stacy asked.

And just as an argument was about to break out, Iris jumped in, ˝GIRLS!˝ she got their immediate attention, ˝Stop playing around! We have more important matters to attend to,˝ the two nodded in agreement, ˝Good, now tell me is my eyeliner running? Because I think it is.˝ Sienna watched the three from the back and just slowly shook her head.

Back in the zoo, ˝Yup, my full trust,˝ Skipper repeated, ˝Now come on, we have some catching up to do.˝

**Review!**


	9. And X Makes Three

**9 – And X Makes Three**

**I guess you can imagine who's going to make an appearance in this chapter. Enjoy!**

The penguins headed out into the park, sliding on their stomachs. By what Kowalski had told him, the girls had gone north, that meant, that they still had a much smaller southern section to check, and so the captain gave the orders, "We'll do a quick sweep, let's not get held back too long."

"Aye, aye Skipper!" the remaining three birds replied.

They raced through the endless grassy hills, eating up one square meter of park after another, not finding one trace of life. Perhaps the relocation was a mistake, because now they couldn't ask anyone, if they had seen the reptile, but then again, they had to ensure everyone's safety, no matter how much more difficult it made their jobs.

They checked the skating ring, which was still closed at the time of year, the pond, in the southern most part of the park, and the Heckscher Fields softball field. The last one was the only place, that held some humans, at the moment, and they stopped, just for a second, so Rico could catch a ball leaving the grounds. "WOO!" he cheered in happiness, but was forced to abandon the celebration, and continue with the search.

He swallowed the ball and caught up with his team, "Nothing Skipper, which means we've just wasted an hour here," Kowalski said, sliding next to his leader.

"Yes, I can see that. Maybe we should approach this from a different angle. We removed all his food and or game, so where would he go, if he still wanted either one of them?"

"Speaking out of the top of my head, due to the fact, that I cannot reach my options clipboard, I believe the locations are The Lake, The Harlem Meer, The Turtle Pond and The Pond, which we already checked. There are still plenty of fish there, and taking into account the fact, that he IS a water monitor, they are all highly plausible."

After taking out Archie and Antonio like that, could he really satisfy his obvious thirst with mere fish? "Did we move all the animals?" Skipper asked again.

"Well no, not quite. The black hole protocol dictates, that we relocate every animal that can move on the same grounds as the predator, which, in this case, meant every terrestrial, marine and amphibian organism. That means, that all flying birds were left behind, for obvious reasons."

"That seems reasonable," Private said.

"Hmm, Kowalski, most likely pigeon feeding grounds," the leader demanded.

"I don't know, every bench in the park?"

Skipper tried to think of an inside man, someone more likely to know these things, a confidential informant. Frankie was the first to pop up, but he had no way of reaching him right now, but there might be someone who could.

He stopped, which caused a pileup of the remaining birds, "Kowalski, I want you to reach Iris." Rico regurgitated an earphone, the smart bird pressed some buttons and he then handed it to his leader.

"Hello! Raven! Report!" he began yelling in to the headset.

"_My name is Iris, what is it? And if this is about us running off, I'll throw this thing into the lake."_

"No it's not. What I want to know is, if you know any bird feeding grounds or popular dumpsters?"

"_I'm a vegan, not a freegan, I don't dig in trashcans, but yes, I could have a look around, maybe ask some questions?"_

"Excellent, I want you and your team checking every bird feeding area in the park, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, waste time with any other place."

"_Aye aye, captain,"_ she finished with a giggle.

Skipper let out a sigh, and then they heard his stomach growl.

"I think your gut's trying to tell us something, Skippah," the private said.

"Yes, it's trying to tell me it's lunch time," he looked around and spotted a cart. The birds snuck up on the vendor from behind and elegantly knocked him out with a chop to the neck, courtesy of Rico. They jumped onto it, "Ok, what do have Private?"

"There's a whole bunch of pretzels Skippah."

The chubby bird's response caused Kowalski and Rico to grab each other screaming. The leader rolled his eyes and gave each a slap, "Knock it off you two, it's not like we're the only animals he monitors, besides, he got fired, remember?"

A golf cart then came to a stop right next to them, "Speaking of the devil," Skipper commented.

"Well you have to admit, you did jinx us," Private said.

"Well well, if it isn't the penguins, natures rule breakers," X got out of his vehicle. They were surprised to see him wearing a dark blue business suit instead of his usual attire, and holding a clipboard.

The penguins stood there in fear, "You cost me my job as a substitute zoo keeper, and now I'm back in pretzel cart regulation. You birds just can't seem to get rid of me," he said cracking his knuckles.

"Kowalski, options," Skipper whispered.

"There's no way of stopping him. All of our previous victories were based on luck," the scientist received a slap from his leader, for that comment.

"Let's see if you like jail cells as much as you like pret-cells?" Pretzel cart inspector X pulled out his stun baton from behind his back and fired it up. A Jacob's ladder formed on its tip.

"Don't worry men, I have a plan… RUN!" the captain ordered and they all jumped off the cart and began sliding as fast as they could.

"Penguins aren't part of the mandatory food cart equipment and that's why I'm making it my personal business to hand you over to animal control," he sat back into his golf cart and engaged in pursuit.

"He's right on our tail feathers, we need to shake him," said the leader. They slid between some trees, over gravel, which hurt them rather, than stopping X, and finally, passed through some sand, but to no effect whatsoever.

"It would seem, that the cart has been modified, because there is no way he could follow us through all that terrain,˝ Kowalski said.

"Then we stand and fight, Rico!" the maniac stopped and regurgitated his bazooka.

He aimed it carefully at Inspector X, "Boom, boom," he fired a rocket, which flew directly at its target. A compartment in the front of the cart opened and an anti-ballistic missile left it, creating a large explosion, once colliding with the penguins' projectile. X drove right through the cloud of smoke without even stopping.

Rico lowered the weapon and waited for him to do his job. X drove past him and swung his baton, hitting Rico in the chest, and sending him flying over the other birds, which were still sliding away. Once the maniac landed, the others bumped right into him, creating a bird pile.

The inspector stopped and stepped out of his vehicle. The penguins quickly got up and Rico began growling, "What, not gonna sing either? You think you're too good to follow nature's rules?"

"Kowalski, I'd go with just about anything right now," Skipper said, while they all slowly began backing up.

"I'm thinking."

"Well think faster!" the leader demanded.

The genius bird tried and felt something cold and wet, that he had stepped in. he looked back and saw, that they had managed to get to the, very originally named, if I might add, lake, The Lake. A light bulb would've appeared above the penguin's head, if it could, "I've got it! Rico, "Tsar Bomba" scenario."

Skipper's eyes widened and the maniac began spitting out one stick of dynamite after another. X came to a stop and just focused on avoiding them all, "Oh, so now it's the laws of physics as well, you have no idea how much jail time that gives you," one of the fuses, of a stick, grazed the Jacob's ladder and was lit

Seeing that, Rico regurgitated his drill helmet and dug into the ground. He was followed by two more birds, leaving his leader to execute the goodbye, "We hate to undermine your efforts, but it's been a blast." The lead penguin disappeared and X let out a growl, but turned around at the smell of pyrotechnics.

"Oh nuts," he said seeing the fuse reach the end. There were several explosions, which the Penguins observed from afar. After everything finally calmed down, there was no X in sight.

"*Gulp*, is he?" Private asked concerned.

"Of course not!" replied the captain. Screaming was then heard and they saw a smoking figure fall in to the lake. It quickly resurfaced and turned into their direction.

"You think, that a fireworks show like that could stop X?˝ his stun baton, falling from the sky, caught his attention. It fell into the water, sending an electrical shock trough the body of everyone and everything in it, until eventually short-circuiting.

X was floating in the water, probably unconscious, along with hundreds of dead fish. "Should we get him out?" the smallest penguin asked.

"*Groan* Fine, right after we eat," Skipper replied.

"**Tsar Bomba" was the largest atomic bomb ever constructed. Hope you liked it, review!**


	10. New Clues

**10 – New Clues**

**Sup people, hope I don't get tired of wtiting, because, even though you artistically express yourself, you don't have anything physical to show for it in the real world. Enjoy!**

Team double x was just taking a break under a tree, when a ringing was heard. They frantically searched for its source until, finally, Iris discovered, that it had been coming from her own belt. She checked some compartments on it and discovered an earphone, which she quickly put on.

"_Hello! Raven! Report!" _she heard yelling on the other side and immediately recognized the voice as Captain Skipper's.

She had pretty clear idea what the call was about, "My name is Iris, what is it? And if this is about us running off, I'll throw this thing into the lake," she snarled.

"_No it's not. What I want to know is, if you know any bird feeding grounds or popular dumpsters?"_

'Right, just because I'm a bird, it doesn't mean I hang around those flying recycling bins called pigeons,' she thought. "I'm a vegan, not a freegan, I don't dig in trashcans, but yes, I could have a look around, maybe ask some questions?"

"_Excellent, I want you and your team checking every bird feeding area in the park, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, waste time with any other place,"_ it made her slightly angry, they were supposed to be two individual teams, and yet he was telling her what to do.

She quickly thought of the best thing she could do, that would drive the penguin leader crazy "Aye aye, captain," she finished with a giggle, it might've worked, but it didn't matter. He was still above her by rank, so she had to follow his orders.

"Come on team, we gotta find ourselves a snitch," she told her team and they followed her as she headed towards some nearby trashcans. They hid in a bush, which allowed them to observe the metal containers perfectly.

It didn't take long for a human to throw a garbage bag away, and that quickly attracted some scavengers, well actually, it was only one, a rather obese pigeon. "Any volunteers?" the raven asked.

"A cat always gets what it wants, but I can't promise he'll be as talkative as we want him to be, when I bring him here," replied Sienna.

Iris rolled her eyes, "Forget it, I'll do it," she fixed her suit, "Just make sure you grab him before he starts making any moves.˝ She flew out of their hideout and descended on the closed trashcan, behind the pigeon, "Excuse, but you mind if I keep you company?" she asked, in an innocent tone.

He turned around, chewing on a piece of lettuce, but his beak dropped, seeing the raven. She fluttered her eyelashes, so the seduction would be even more effective, "Uh no, I mean yes, I mean, you're welcome to stay," he said in a thick New York accent.

"Thanks," she replied and flew over. She landed right next to him, "So, got a name?" Iris asked, seriously invading the other bird's private space.

"F-Frankie, I MEAN, it's Francesco," he lied, to sound more sophisticated, "And the miss, would be?"

"Iris."

"Like the flower?" he asked.

She smirked, "Exactly," and pushed him off the top of the trashcan. In his surprise, he failed to open up his wings and end his descent. The remaining team members took this as a clear sign, and rushed in to catch the bird.

The badgers positioned themselves right where he was about to fall and grabbed each other's paws. They acted like a trampoline and launched Frankie into the arms of Sienna, who caught him in a tight hold. He wasn't going anywhere.

Realizing what had just happened, he began struggling to get out, "Nice try, but you know, a cat likes to play with its prey before eating it," she said.

He gulped in fear, and stopped. Iris descended and landed in front of him and the badgers joined her at her sides, with their arms crossed on their chests. Frankie waited there in silence and watched the girls' smirking, "What do you want from me?"

"Now, now, so what, a girl talks you up on top of a trashcan, then takes you captive, and you assume she wants something? *Giggle*, aren't you the smart fellow."

Frankie gulped again, fearing the worst. "I want information."

"What kind of information?"

"The kind' that'll get you eaten if you don't answer," the wildcat said. She felt the bird trembling in her hold.

"Sienna, try and control yourself," Iris demanded.

"But it's just so hard, I can't remember the last time I had poultry this fresh," She sniffed Frankie's neck and then made a taste test, by licking his feathers, "Delicious."

"Okay, okay, I'll talk, I'll talk!" Frankie yelled, tears escaping his eyes.

The raven smiled, "Okay, I want to know where all the pigeons will be for the next hour."

"There's a tourist bus that'll make a stop at the Marionette theater, it's filled with old ladies, they always carry bread around to feed us, well actually, the bus already stopped."

Something seemed off, "So why aren't you there?"

"Are you kidding me, everyone's there. I rather use this time and dig through some garbage, than fight for crumbles."

Iris looked at Sienna, who shrugged, and gave her a nod. The wildcat let go of the bird and Frankie flew off as fast as he could, "Crazy bitches!" he yelled, disappearing in the distance.

"What are we waiting for – Yeah, let's go!" the badger twins raced off in the direction of the theater, but Iris hesitated.

The wildcat noticed, "What's wrong, don't you want to find Alexander?"

She winced, "I'm not so sure anymore. What if we catch him right in the middle of killing someone, or maybe he'll attack one of us, or maybe…" she looked away.

"You're afraid he might not recognize you," guessed Sienna.

"Well yes, it took me all I had, to even approach him. It was a crush, and a stupid one at that, and I don't think I even want to try having a relationship with him anymore, if something happens… or even if it doesn't."

"You're in love with a psychopath, I know how that feels."

Iris looked at her with a "NO YOU DON'T" look, but remembered, that the wildcat was with Rico, "Oh, right."

"So are we catching up with the badgers, or are just going to stand here and mope?" Sienna received a grin from the raven as an answer and they ran after the twins. "By the way, nice acting back there," commented the wildcat.

"Thanks, you weren't bad yourself."

They quickly caught up, mostly, because the two had come to a stop not far after getting on the other side of a nearby hill.

"What's wrong?" Iris asked, but Stacy only raised her paw, pointing straight ahead. The raven looked and her eyes widened. The entire hillside in front of them was soaked in blood. Gray feathers and torn up bodies everywhere. It was truly a horrific sight. They watched the scene in shock, but the black reptile was nowhere in sight.

"I guess we should go find some clues," the bird suggested and they all slowly approached the site of the massacre. They didn't want to step on any of the blood, so they observed from afar. "There are what? Thirty birds?"

"Forty-nine," corrected Sienna.

"Actually, it's fifty – That female there was carrying an egg," said the badgers.

Iris looked away in disgust, and noticed a trail, like someone had dragged a bird away, leading from the scene, "Follow me!" she ordered. They moved quickly, completely focused on the blood, and soon reached the edge of the park. They followed the trail with their eyes a little further and saw where it ended, there, in the middle of the street…

Meanwhile, with the penguins, they had dragged the unconscious inspector X out of the lake and had just finished eating all the fish floating on the water's surface. "Great Arthur Conan Doyle, of course!" exclaimed Kowalski and received confused looks from his team mates.

"What's with the outburst?" Skipper asked.

"Can't you see it, well no, you can't, but we smelt it, the stench, the methane producing bacteria, isn't it obvious?"

The Captain looked at his other two teammates, who just shrugged, "I guess not, explain yourself soldier!"

"The monitor's in the vast underground sewer system, that's where he got the bacteria, he drank sewer sludge," explained the lieutenant.

The captain rubbed his bottom beak, "Are you sure?"

"Do the funds, for the prize money, for Nobel prizes come from TNT sales?" seeing, that he wouldn't get an answer, he did it himself, "Yes, yes they do."

"Ok, then let's go find ourselves a sewer lid."

**Can you imagine, you get the Nobel peace prize and the prize money, which comes with it, comes from dynamite sales, ironic, isn't it? Hope you liked it, review!**


	11. Veil of Darkness

**11 – Veil of Darkness**

**Sup people, last chapter for the next two weeks, hope you like it, I know I won't have much time, when I finally get back home, but I do hope I'll manage to write you a decent Halloween fic. There are some ideas floating through my head right now, but it's nothing concrete. Enjoy!**

Darkness, complete and utter darkness, only the occasional sound of a drop, hitting the ground, breaks the peace and quiet. The eyes are useless here, the remaining senses become sharper, but then suddenly, a stream of light cuts through the dark veil.

Light is supposed to be the fastest thing in the universe (not counting the recent discovery of neutrinos), but no matter where it travels to, when it reaches its destination, it's forced to find out, that darkness beat it there.

But back to the story, four shapes, one after another, quickly drop through the light. It was team double X, "Oh, what's that stench?" Iris asked.

"It's the sewers, what did you expect?" replied Sienna.

"I can't see a thing, why didn't Kowalski put some flashlights in this belt?" the raven asked again.

"Don't you remember – he asked us if we wanted some – but we had to choose between that – and the manicure – which transforms into – five inch claws."

"You know, I still don't get our decision, you three already have claws, and I have nowhere to put them."

The wildcat rolled her eyes, "It doesn't matter, I'll take point, my eyes are going to adjust to the dark, just follow my voice." She began walking in the opposite direction of the sewage flow. The remaining team members followed her orders.

Meanwhile, having found a sewer lid of their own, the penguins dropped into the sewers as well, and began marching in their own direction. Skipper was on point, with a flashlight, courtesy of Rico.

"Skippah, don't you think we should have told the girls that we're down here."

"Nonsense Private, if we told them, they'd want come as well, and that would just be putting them in danger," the captain suddenly stopped, which caused the other birds to bump into him. He quickly turned off the light and put his flipper behind his ear-slit to hear better.

He heard voices, very faint ones, but they were still there. He could make out, that they belonged to females. He turned to his team mates and made some gestures with his flippers, which the other birds didn't really see, since it was dark. Skipper jumped into the fecal river and the rest of the team followed, but not without some initial hesitation.

Sound waves travel faster in the water, than on land, so the talking seemed closer. They swam for a distance and then peeked out of the sludge, eyes only, right below the voice. Skipper looked at his men and nodded, the others nodded back in response, and then they jumped out, and formed their fighting stances.

(And now for the big, bet you didn't expect this) It wasn't the other team, but something smaller, shaking. The leader tuned on the flashlight again and illuminated the startled creatures. There were two rats, obviously the females he had heard, deducted Skipper.

"At ease men, just a couple of civilians," they broke their stances.

"Are you okay?" asked Private, "I'm sorry we startled you."

"It's o-okay," replied one of the rats.

"We're just glad it's not the dinosaur again," said the other one, already calm.

The penguins exchanged looks. "By dinosaur, are you referring to a black reptile with red eyes," asked Skipper.

"I d-don't know, we didn't s-see his eyes."

"Well, where did you see him, in your lair?"

"Yes, behind the 'Danger Ahead' sign."

Skipper turned towards his scientist, "Could he still be there?"

Kowalski pulled out his abacus, "It's possible, he's been on a rampage for the last 15 hours, he has to stop eventually."

"Good enough for me," he turned towards the rats, "Get to the zoo, as fast as you can! Come on men, we have a reptile to catch." The birds slid off, disappearing in the dark tunnels.

The females waited until they were out of sight and then looked up, "Okay, we did what you wanted, now give me back my son!" one on the rats demanded. There was silence, but then something was thrown at her. She fell back and looked to see a partially digested baby rat. She let out a screech.

"YOU MONSTER, YOU PROMISSED!" snarled the other one, pointing at the ceiling. The view changes, to reveal the water monitor, easily clinging to the bricks with his claws.

The first rat began crying, holding her dead child, and the second one gave her a hug to comfort her. The reptile observed the actions of the two, sticking out his forked tongue from time to time, but then a wicked grin formed on his face. He climbed down the wall and stopped above the two rats. They hadn't noticed him yet and he just reached down, with his jaw, and snatched the mourning mother.

He didn't bother chewing her, he just swallowed the rodent whole. The other one watched in fear and then made a run for it, but she didn't get far. The lizard jumped off the wall, immediately catching up to the female; he grabbed and held her down with his claw.

He observed her expression of sheer terror for a moment and then just squished her. Again, he formed the grin and then disappeared into the river of sludge, swimming as fast as he could, in the direction the penguins went.

Meanwhile, with the girls, they had found a trail, a very unusual one, but it seemed to be leading them somewhere. "It's getting worse and worse, I can't believe he did all this," Iris spoke.

"Don't worry – yeah, the city's been having rat – and pigeon troubles for years – he's doing us a favor actually," tried the badgers, but it didn't seem to have worked.

Indeed, they were following a trail of dead rats, "It stops here," the wildcat said, reaching a junction, where a large tunnel was connected to theirs on their right. They peeked inside, even though the raven had trouble seeing anything. "There seems to be a trail of sewer sludge leading inside," Sienna added.

"*Gulp*, should we go inside?" Iris asked.

They were then blinded by a light, "What in the name of Teddy Roosevelt are you girls doing here?" it was Skipper.

"We found a trail and followed it here," replied Stacy, shielding her eyes.

"Oh, you mean like breadcrumbs?" the Private asked with an innocent smile. The darker of the two badgers saw the last rat next to her hind paw and kicked it into the river of sludge.

"Yeah, something like that," replied Becky.

Skipper looked inside the tunnel to his left and shinned his flashlight. "Let's go!" he ordered. He could've argued with the girls for hours over this being dangerous, but he decided to save the time and just let them go along, they would've gone anyway. They reached a "blocked" section of the sewers with the sign, destined to stay ignored.

"I want everyone to stay sharp. Our target is clawed and dangerous. He will attack on sight," he slowly proceeded and squeezed between the bars, followed by the rest of his team and the other team. Private and the badgers were scared, nervously looking in all directions. Kowalski and Sienna were expressionless, they just followed the captain. Iris, felt a mixture of sadness, anger, fear and concern, and Rico, we don't know what was going on in his head, but he was smiling, so…

They entered a large lit room, well actually, there was only one light. Most of the room was still in darkness. In the center of it, somebody was lying on the ground, a red pool spreading from him. The stench of this place was worse than the rest of the sewers, so the teams had to cover their nostrils.

They approached the animal and soon recognized the large mass of muscles, it was the rat king. His face carried a blank expression and his abdomen was torn open. Fungus was already beginning to cover him. The teams stopped and looked in horror.

Private couldn't take it, he waddled away, fell on his knees, and threw up on the ground. He was gasping for air and felt pats on his back. He looked to see Becky and Stacy, trying to cheer him up.

"You got a time of death?" Skipper asked, but before the lieutenant could answer, the corpse began moving. The girls froze in fear and the penguins took on their battle stances. They watched carefully, as the much wanted reptile slowly emerged out of the body.

"Incredible," commented the lieutenant, "It would seem, that he was using the warmth from the decaying body to maintain his own body temperature."

Skipper rolled his eyes, but then saw the reptile slowly turn towards them. He was looking the lead penguin directly in the eyes. They watched each other, waiting who would make the first move. Skipper narrowed his eyelids; drops of sweat ran down the sides of his head, until he finally blinked. In that moment, Alexander jumped out of the rat king and headed for the shadows, "Catch and contain!" he ordered.

Rico and Kowalski jumped on their bellies and slid after him. He entered the shadows and his dark scales melted with them. The two birds tried to continue pursuit, but hit the wall, half way in. They rubbed their beaks and looked around for any signs of the lizard.

"Iris? Iris!" the raven snapped out of her shock and looked to see the wildcat holding her by the shoulders. "Come on, we have to help them." She looked at the penguins and saw Alexander poke his tail out of the shadow and wrap it around Kowalski's neck.

The tall bird, did his best to fight it, but was saved by Rico, and his chainsaw, instead. A decent amount of tail was severed and horrible snarling and growling was heard, "No! Don't hurt him!" Iris screamed.

Skipper ignored her, "Kowalski, analysis!"

"He didn't show this reaction the last time he lost a limb; I assume masochism comes with a certain amount of intellect. A normal animal tends to avoid pain."

"Right, let's try using that to our advantage and beat the living daylight out of him," he looked over to the girls, the raven, who just stood there with the wildcat, and the twins, who were trying to comfort Private. "Circular formation, now!" he ordered.

Everyone moved closer to him and they formed the circle. Their backs were facing inwards and they were all in their battle stances. The monitor couldn't sneak up on them now. They waited in silence, the agonizing knowing, that something will happen and not knowing when, just like your exact time of death. The silence was broken by a snapping noise.

Everyone heard it and looked up, but the only one, able to react in time, was Skipper. He slid away and turned around to see his friends get captured in the rat's steel cage (don't get me wrong, there still were no rats around). He had to prioritize, get THEM out first, even though that meant, letting the monitor escape. His guard fell, and it didn't go unnoticed. The lead penguin was pinned down by the monitor dropping from the ceiling.

The bird struggled, but it only fueled the reptile's pleasure in the situation. He opened his mouth, strings of his deadly saliva still connected the upper and lower jaw, Skipper's blood froze as he neared, and he turned away, with his eyes closed.

Was this it, was caring for his friends really going to be his downfall? He felt a tickle on his chest and looked up to see the lizard's forked tongue. Alexander lifted his head in the air and stuck out the tongue a few more times, before heading out of the room, back into the endless sewer tunnels.

**Where is he going? You might already know, but what did he smell, or taste, I dare you to guess.**


	12. Backup

**12 – Backup**

**Sup people. Asmith137 and Sam, you two were the only ones who guessed, and you got the target right, but let's face it, it was obvious. But no one figured out the reason why. No biggie, read to find out.**

Skipper jumped back up on his feet and turned towards the exit while forming his fighting stance. He just managed to make out the reptile as he left the sewers and hid from his pursuers once again. 'Blast,' thought the leader and turned towards the cage where his friends were caught.

"Rico, approaching from the right angle scenario, GO!" Skipper ordered.

The maniac regurgitated an angle grinder and started working on the steel cage. Sparks flew in different direction and the loud noise made everyone cover their hearing organs. The captain moved to the side slightly to get a chance to speak to his lieutenant.

"KOWALSKI, ANALYSIS, WHERE IS HE GOING NOW?" the leader asked.

"I WOULDN'T KNOW. WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST FOLLOW HIM?" They were both screaming trying to beat the steel cutting machine.

"I HAD TO FOLLOW THE CREDO! BESIDES, IT'S NOT LIKE THERE'S ANYONE ELSE HE CAN KILL DOWN HERE!" the grinding stopped and everyone could remove their appendages and hear normally again, more or less.

Rico pulled back a portion of the net and gestured for the ladies to exit first. They happily accepted the offer and left, before being followed by the penguins. "Listen up people, I need ideas. Where is the reptile going?" the lead bird asked.

Kowalski took his clipboard, doodled a little with a pencil and then showed the poorly drawn sketches to everyone, "There's an exotic pets convention in midtown. Perhaps he caught a flier and read it… that is, if he could read."

Skipper slowly shook his head, "Any more likely scenario?" everyone was just exchanging looks, shrugging, "OH COME ON PEOPLE! I mean, first he was trying to eat me and then he ran off. What could be the reason?"

"Did he run off just like that?" Private asked.

"Well no, I recall him smelling me first, or whatever it is he does with that tongue of his."

"Maybe he got scared away by some bad cologne," commented the wildcat with a smirk. But skipper only replied by rolling his eyes.

"Well let's analyze it then," suggested the genius bird. "Did you have any rancid meat or fish today?"

The captain shook his head, "Right, of course not. That eliminates food. Have you been hanging out with any female water monitors that were in heat?"

Skipper rolled his eyes, "No, I haven't."

"Hmm, that excludes sexual cravings as well *slap*," the penguin grabbed his cheek as he felt the blood rush to it. He looked to his right and saw Iris shooting him an angry glare.

"Cut the crap and find out something we can use already!" the raven ordered.

The lieutenant gulped nervously and frantically began listing through his notes, "Uh, uh, uh, I don't know, who or where have you been hanging around today?" he tried.

Skipper thought about it, "Nowhere special, well other than you people there was only MARLENE!" he exclaimed and already turned towards the exit. But he was stopped by Private and Rico who grabbed him by his feet, causing him to belly flop on the ground.

"Let me go, I have to go save her!" he desperately tried to paddle forward with his flippers.

"Calm down Skipper, there's no reason why he would go after Marlene," Kowalski spoke.

The captain rolled over, slipping out off the grips of his teammates, and jumped onto his feet, he then grabbed his lieutenant by the chest feathers and pulled his head to his level, "Well there wasn't any reason for him to commit genocide either, and he still did it. Now let's stop wasting time and go!"

The maniac restrained his leader in a full Nelson and let him wiggle around in the hold, "This is mutiny, mutiny I tell you!"

Kowalski fixed his feathers and turned towards the females, "Ok, is there anything Marlene could've passed on to Skipper, a perfume or a scent that would attract the monitor."

"Alexander," Iris corrected.

"Alexander," The genius bird rolled his eyes. He happily corrected everyone else, but couldn't stand it when people did it to him.

"Well Marlene doesn't use perfumes. No animal, other than human females, use them, the scent is just too strong for us," replied Sienna.

"Maybe he smelled clams – or the tea – or maybe the fish – she's having her period – you think he could've smelled that? – I don't know – how about the popcorn?-"

"WAIT!," exclaimed the scientist, "Marlene's having her menstrual cycle?"

"Oh nice work Stace, now everyone knows it."

Kowalski wrote something on his clipboard, "EUREKA!" he exclaimed, receiving confused looks from everyone,"Ahem, right, let's just go, I'll explain things on the way."

Rico finally let go of his leader and the eight of them left the room as fast as they could. "So Mr. Smarty-pants, what did you find out?"

"First of all, I'm not wearing pants, and second, I've deducted something." Skipper rolled his eyes. "One of the many hormones a female produces is oxytocin. It causes a pregnant female to go into labor a give birth."

"Whoa, are you saying Marlene's been cheating on me, man, was I really that bad as a boyfriend?"

"No Skipper, of course not, what I was going for was that the hormone is also produced during a menstrual cycle. He must've mixed it up and he thinks Marlene had just given birth. That's what he's after, the non-existing child of the otter next door," Kowalski said, proud of himself.

Skipper pushed himself forward with one of his feet. It increased his speed and he slid ahead of the rest of the team.

Meanwhile, on the top of the otter exhibit, Marlene had been sitting there, feeling sorry for herself. Her right front paw was wrapped up; she hurt it when she broke Julien's snout after he wouldn't turn down the music. The lemur king was, right now, recovering from the injury at the vet's office, in the company of his loyal subjects.

Marlene let out a sigh and then stood up. She walked down to her cave and entered. What she immediately noticed, was a disgusting stench. She grabbed her snout, "Man, sewer's overflowing again." But once inside, she noticed the sewer lid, deformed and torn out of the ground with the bolts still in it.

She carefully approached it and looked down into the depths. "Who could've done this?" she asked and then heard a loud thud behind her. She didn't want to turn around, but did it anyway. A pair of blood-red eyes was the only thing that stood out on the black background.

She gulped and slowly began backing away, "Oh hey Alexander, nice to see you again, hey have you heard, the guys are looking for ya, why don't you just go back to their exhibit and wait there?" She waited for a response from the lizard, but there was none. He didn't even seem interested in her, he was turning his head in different directions, sticking out his forked tongue.

The girl decided to use the opportunity and made a break for the exit. The dashed right, past the monitor, but not without catching his attention. He turned around and let out a snarl, before engaging in pursuit.

Marlene headed towards the lemur habitat and quickly scaled the walls. She then climbed to the top of the rock in their enclosure and stopped to catch her breath. She looked scanned the habitat and saw no sign of the reptile, "Maybe I lost him AHHH!" she screamed after turning around and seeing the monitor there, slowly walking towards her.

She quickly turned around and ran again, but before she could get anywhere, she bumped into the king's boom box, turning it on (I don't own anything from Three Days Grace).

**(Opening with a base guitar and some drums, soon joined by an electric guitar)**

She shook it off and jumped off the rock**  
>I can't escape this hell<br>**Alexander formed a twisted grin and followed her**  
>So many times I've tried<br>**Marlene quickly jumps on the top of the wall and looks back**  
>But I'm still caged inside<br>**The monitor was climbing the wall and he almost caught up to her**  
>Somebody get me through this nightmare<br>**She looks south and spots the home of the two chimpanzees **  
>I can't control myself<br>**She heads for the chimp habitat, only further enraging the reptile by once again evading him

**So what if you can see the darkest side of me  
><strong>The little otter enters the enclosure and frantically searches for the inhabitants**  
>No one will ever change this animal I have become<br>**She desperately calls for their help, but the chimps seem to have hid as well**  
>Help me believe it's not the real me<br>**She sees a growing shadow in front of her and quickly dashes to the left**  
>Somebody help me tame this animal!<br>**Marlene looks back and sees the monitor growl as he had bit into a rock instead**  
>This animal, this animal<br>**The girl watches him in pain instead of running

**I can't escape myself  
><strong>She lets out a gasp as the reptile turns towards her with drops of blood escaping his mouth**  
>So many times I've lied<br>**Her second of hesitation was noticed immediately as Alexander quickly closed the distance between them**  
>But there's still rage inside<br>**She almost fell when she turned around and ran for the wall again**  
>Somebody get me through this nightmare<br>**Marlene easily jumps it and heads east  
><strong>I can't control myself<br>**Towards the flamingo habitat

**So what if you can see the darkest side of me**  
>She runs as fast as she can, jumps over the fence and hides between the forest of red flamingo legs<br>**No one will ever change this animal I have become**  
>Suddenly, everything disappears<br>**Help me believe it's not the real me**  
>She looks around and sees that she's been exposed<br>**Somebody help me tame this animal!**  
>Marlene hears a hiss and turns towards it.<p>

**Help me believe it's not the real me**  
>It's the monitor again, looking directly into her eyes.<br>She gulps, she had made the entire circle around the central habitat "That's it!" she exclaims.  
><strong>Somebody help me tame this animal<strong>  
>The penguins were bound to have something that'll help her<p>

**Somebody help me through this nightmare  
><strong>Alexander, sure of his success, slowly walks towards Marlene**  
>I can't control myself<br>**She waits, the closer he'll get, the longer he'll need to get to the penguin habitat**  
>Somebody wake me from this nightmare<br>**He finally stops and swings back his claw**  
>I can't escape this hell<br>**In the second the claw begins approaching her, she jumps on his head and runs down his back, towards her destination

**This animal, this animal**  
>She exits the flamingo enclosure and slips through the fence of the central exhibit<br>**This animal, this animal**  
>She kicks the fishbowl away and enters the HQ<br>**This animal, this animal**  
>She runs towards Kowalski's lab, but finds out that the door is locked<br>**This animal**  
>She felt her heart skip a beat<p>

**So what if you can see the darkest side of me  
><strong>It was her last hope and she was cornered**  
>No one will ever change this animal I have become<br>**Hissing is heard approaching the entrance**  
>Help me believe it's not the real me<br>**Tears escape her eyes, was this it? The penguins would normally arrive in the last second, but this didn't seem like the case here**  
>Somebody help me tame this animal I have become<br>**She spots a slightly elevated platform in the corner and walks up to it

**Help me believe it's not the real me  
><strong>She steps on it and hears the thud indicating the arrival of her pursuer**  
>Somebody help me tame this animal!<br>**"Emergency Evacuation Launcher" said the label**  
>This animal I have become<strong>

She remembered Kowalski mentioning the device before, it was supposed to get you outside the zoo. She perked her ears, listening to the monitor approaching and a smirk formed on her face. The footsteps stopped and she turned around as well.

The confidence she was radiating right then, surprised the predator. "You're not the only one with a beast inside!" she yelled and elbowed the button on the wall. A hatch on the ceiling opened and Alexander looked up. Marlene used this distraction and jumped on the monitor's back.

The two were soon launched into the air. Marlene saw that their landing spot was definitely located outside the walls, she gulped, unsure if her feral side could even tame her opponent, but it was her last chance. Although, come to think about it, she could've left the platform and sent the reptile flying by himself.

She used Alexander's body to cushion her own fall. The reptile hit the grass hard, he could fell an agonizing pain in his chest and heard a cracking sound. Something in his head whispered, "Broken ribs," but he ignored it.

The female jumped off his back and elegantly landed in front of him, unharmed. She turned around and looked him directly in the eyes, "Alexander, let me introduce to you, Feral Marlene." She stretched out her arms, waiting for the transformation to happen, but she felt nothing. Marlene looked at her paws and saw that they were as normal as always.

'No… why now, why doesn't it work now?' she looked at the monitor again. He had gotten up by now and had fully recovered from the fall. She began shaking and started backing up, but tripped on a root.

Alexander quickly got to her and formed a twisted grin. Marlene closed her eyes in fear and then heard a scream in pain. She opened them and looked up. The water monitor was nailed to the ground by three arrows going through his body. His was hissing and struggling desperately trying to get out of the hold and Marlene decided to seize opportunity and get some distance between her and the reptile.

On a branch, a few hundred meters away, a flying fox was hanging upside-down looking through a pair of binoculars. "We've made contact, but it wasn't lethal," he reported.

"Normally that would be good news, why isn't it?" the roadrunner asked, sitting on the same branch.

"Because now we have to use the up-close method," said the genet and folded his bow. He jumped to the ground and was followed by his teammates. "Keep your knives ready people, he won't go down without a fight."

**Arrgh, there she be, chapter of thee number twelve, arrgh. How be me pirate talk. Be it authentic or neigh? Be that the decision of thee. Review or else ye be walking the plank.**


	13. Crucifix

**13 – Crucifix**

**I appreciate the reviews people and please enjoy!**

Marlene ran away from the Water monitor as fast as she could. She looked back to see him still struggling with the arrows and collided with someone. She rubbed her head, "Ow, that hurt," and opened her eyes. She was lying on top of a roadrunner, which was looking at her.

"Uh, sorry," she said and got off, before helping him get up.

"It's no big deal," he replied, "the speed with which the two of us travelled was nowhere near enough to create another big bang."

"Huh?" Marlene asked after a moment of silence.

"Nothing."

The genet and flying fox caught up with their friend, "Remove the civilian, soldier," Clemens ordered.

The bird got up and Helped Marlene as well, "You should probably go, this isn't going to be not ugly," he said.

Again, "What?" the girls asked in confusion.

"Hey, where did Alexander go?" Dmitry suddenly asked. Everyone turned to where he was supposed to be, but there was no trace of him. They all slowly walked to the spot and only saw a trail of blood in the grass.

"He couldn't have gotten far with the arrows still in him," said the bat.

"Wait, can't he regenerate wounds?" asked Marlene.

"He can't if there are foreign bodies keeping them open," replied the bird.

"He left us a trail, let's hunt him down," ordered the genet and they began following the blood. Marlene wasn't sure what to do, but considering the fact that there was a dangerous predator out here, she decided to stick with these guys.

"Hey wait up!" she caught up to them, "So I never got your names."

"Clemens, that's Ovid and the Bat's Dmitry," the genet answered.

"So, uh, are you guys military?"

"We were, until we got suspended," answered the roadrunner.

"How?"

"The colonel was having his period, THERE," Dmitry landed, "The arrows are here."

"Impressive, he managed to get quite far," observed the genet. They had walked about thirty meters away from the original spot right into a rather dense forest.

Rustling of leaves was heard and they all, minus Marlene, quickly formed their battle stances. They stood so for about a minute, but nothing happened. "Okay, looks like it was no-" the bat was cut off when it was tackled and pinned to the ground, by the monitor.

Alexander pierced his claws right through the membranes of Dmitry's wings and was ready to deliver a finishing bite, when he was stopped. An arrow and a throwing knife hit him in the side and he jumped off the bat.

He quickly pulled out the arrow with his mouth and the knife with his claw. Alexander turned towards his former team mates and growled.

"Are you okay?" Marlene quickly rushed to the bat and helped him up.

"Yeah, nothing I can't recover from with the help of a drug or two," he looked over at the reptile, "Man, he looks pretty far gone… fuck, we better put him out of his misery fast."

Meanwhile, at the sewers, Skipper had slid straight to the spot underneath the otter exhibit. He had forgotten that they had bolted the lid, but was shocked when he saw the state it was. "Oh no," he muttered and quickly jumped out. He franticly began looking around Marlene's cave, but found nothing that would deliver any information that would be useful at the moment.

"MARLENE, MARLENE!" he called, but there was no response. Right then, the remaining seven animals caught up.

"Kowalski, I need you to organize a search party, we need to find Marlene faster than ASAP!" he ordered and received a slap across the cheek by his lieutenant. He rubbed the sore spot as he felt blood rushing to it, "Thanks, I needed that."

"You're welcome, now try and calming down and give your orders some thought before you uttering them," said the tallest bird.

Skipper took a deep breath. "Let's see, Marlene get's attacked and since there's no blood here, she must have escaped. What would anybody in her situation do?" he asked.

"Try and find help," answered Private.

"Or maybe –Fight back," said the badgers.

"But she would need weapons for that and the only place, that she knows she could get weapons from, is THE HQ!" exclaimed the leader and once again slid off.

He quickly made it to the secret headquarters beneath the artificial ice floe and looked around. Everything seemed in place except for, "The E.E.L.," he noticed that it was still in an elevated position and slid to it.

The remaining animals once again caught up to him. "It would appear that she used my invention in order to either escape, send her pursuer flying or even the playing field by unleashing her own uncontrollable feral self," analyzed Kowalski.

Skipper pulled the platform down and stepped on it. "Everybody, get outside and start searching for those two!" he ordered.

"What about you sir?" Private asked.

"I'm taking the shortcut," he punched the button, with his curled up flipper, and was launched into the air. Kowalski had really outdone himself, this thing really had the power to get an animal outside of the zoo's boundaries… too bad the lead penguin forgot to take a parachute or something to slow him down.

As soon as he made contact with the ground, he rolled in order to spread the force of the impact across his entire body. He looked around and spotted a pool of blood together with some footprints in the grass. He feared it was Marlene's at first, but, "No, there's no fur, thank president Hightower, she's still Ok," he muttered and looked around some more. There was a clear trail of the crimson fluid and he decided to follow it.

Meanwhile, in the forest with Marlene and the Bronx' team, the girl had helped the bat by carrying him further away from the hostile water monitor. "So how do you wanna do this?" asked the bird.

"Restrain and execute," answered the genet and aimed his bow.

"Of course you do, but how about a more "elaborate" plan," Ovid suggested.

"Ok… we nail him to that tree over there," Clemens replied and fired an arrow.

Alexander caught it in his mouth and bit it in half before letting out a hiss.

"Quite an impressive feat for a dumb animal," commented the bat, now standing on his own two feet. "But let's see if you're as fast as the speed of sound," he added and pulled out the small electronic device, known as the WEH, from somewhere. He pressed some buttons and then, the ground next to the reptile exploded.

He turned his head towards the crater and observed it.

"You forgot to calibrate it," said Ovid.

"DO YOU THINK I CAN'T SEE THAT FOR MYSELF," the bat snapped.

"Ok then, keep it ready and fire when it's your time. Ovid, knives!" the genet ordered.

The roadrunner threw several knives at his former leader. Alexander instinctively jumped towards where the crater was. The knives missed completely and imbedded themselves in a tree. The lizard was then hit by something he didn't see, but it threw him back, against a differet tree. In that instant, Clemens fired five arrows, which nailed him to the stem, one through each appendage and the last through the tail.

They slowly walked over to the monitor who was, at the moment, unconscious. "Anyone wanna call dibs?" the bird asked, but the question was met with silence. "Any suggestions then?" he asked again.

"I propose we take after the Iraqi method of stoning or lapidation, from the Latin word Lapis, which means rock, where we all strike at once, so that no individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject," said the bat.

"Okay, then let's do it," replied the genet. They each pulled out an identical knife and held it firmly.

Skipper slid in on them and saw Marlene, he quickly rushed to her and gave her a hug, "You're okay," he whispered.

"I'm fine, but you have to stop them," she said pointing at the "Execution squad".

Skipper's eyes narrowed, "Not on my watch," he slid as fast as he could and then with a kick, he knocked them all down and sent the knives flying in another direction.

The penguin formed his battle stance, but was shock when he recognized the three animals on the ground, "You guys! Just what exactly is going on here?" he asked.

The three slowly picked themselves up and glared at the penguin, "It's actually none of your concern, but we may as well share it with you if you want," answered Clemens.

"Enlighten me," Skipper crossed his flippers on his chest and looked at them.

"As you know, I am educated in the analysis of the animal psyche."

Skipper raised an eyebrow.

"I'm a shrink," he snarled.

"I know that already, now get to the point."

"Fine," the genet took a deep breath. "One of the many healing methods a shrink can use is hypnosis, but before I actually began using it, I had some fun with my friends. But it went wrong, I unleashed Alexander's true self and we barely managed to stop him that time before he could kill anyone. I quickly locked that part of the brain up and we confronted him about what had happened.

He didn't answer and instead disappeared for two weeks and when he came back, he gave one each of us a knife. He said something about it recognizing his DNA and starting a coagulation process in his body. His exact words were: _If that part of me ever resurfaces again, just kill me, before I get to anyone. _We just nodded, seeing that he was obviously serious. I mean hell, he literally put his life in our hand."

Skipper just stared at them, "Hoover dam," he muttered.

"Now if you'll excuse us," the genet attempted to get past the penguin, but received a punch to the stomach and was then thrown on to the ground.

"No, I won't excuse you. You're not killing him, we'll return him to normal and see where that leads us to," Skipper glare at Clemens lying on the ground.

"Let's just see about that."

**No matter what Christianity says, I WILL consider the crucifix as the tool of crucifixion, which WAS, a method of execution and nothing else.**

**Hope you liked it and review.**


	14. Welcome Back

**14 – Welcome Back**

**Listen up people, I know that circumstances forced me into publishing my Halloween fic at the last moment, but I've decided to finish this thing before continuing "Skulls and Bones". I apologize for the inconvenience, but this story only has a chapter or two left to it, so no worries. I had a lot of work this week because of school and just couldn't find the time to write, sorry. Hope you enjoy it!**

Clemens kipped up and tried a punch with his right paw, but Skipper easily deflected it and did two jabs at the genet's stomach. Clemens jumped back, and with the help of his claws, he quickly climbed up a tree. "What's the matter, had enough already?" taunted Skipper.

Clemens wiped some saliva from his mouth, "Don't worry, I haven't even started." He launched himself of the branch, spinning, right at Skipper. The bird managed to jump back in time, but Clemens didn't hit the ground, as hard as you would think. He hit it, front paws first, and pushed himself into doing a backflip.

He jumped over Skipper and once again revealed his retractable claws. The penguin leader caught a glimpse of the sharp growths and jumped forward, rolling over and dogging a swing at his back. He turned around to see the genet in a semi-crouch, waiting for his next move, "So what, you're just going to switch between punching and slashing the whole fight. Why are you holding back?" he asked.

"You aren't armed either. I'm just trying to keep this fair," he replied.

Skipper smirked, "Let's see how that plays out for you." They both charged at each other and met halfway. The whole thing turned into a boxing match. Skipper blocked a punch to the chest then did a cover-up on his head, but this exposed his abdomen, an opportunity, which Clemens quickly seized and delivered a short straight-punch right in the liver. Skipper let out a grunt in pain.

There was no time to wallow in pain, because the lead pengin received a message from his guts, he didn't know if it was because of the punch or something he ate, but he decided to follow it. He rotated to the side, feeling a hook brush against the feathers on his head, and while still in that position, he "slipped" a punch of his own, at the genet's stomach.

Having the wind knocked right out of his lungs, Clemens bent over, which gave Skipper the opportunity for the knockout blow. He jumped and delivered an overcut to the mammal's cranium. Clemens collapsed immediately and remained limp, the chest, being the only thing still moving.

Skipper looked at him and cracked his neck. He turned around to face the remaining two animals, "Who's next?" he asked threateningly.

The bat and roadrunner exchanged looks, "I'm still hurt," said Dmitry and showed the numerous holes punched through his flight membrane.

The bird groaned, "Fine, then I'll do it," he stretched out his wings, revealing his throwing knives. Skipper narrowed his eyes, waiting for his next move, but instead of fighting, he began running around the edge of the clearing they were in.

Skipper watched him for a few minutes, before finally speaking up, "Uh, what in the name of the holy mackerel do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Warming up, most sport injuries occur due to failing to do so. You have to increase the heart rate and speed up the blood circulation first," he explained and then stopped.

Skipper reentered his battle stance, but soon broke it again and slapped his forehead, "Oh don't tell me," he whined.

Ovid was stretching and after another minute or two, he was up and ready, "Okay, let's start," he quickly swung his wing, sending three knives flying at the penguin. Skipper rolled to his right and then slid towards the roadrunner.

Ovid waited 'till the last second and took off. Skipper stopped and looked up, "Since when can roadrunners fly?" he asked in a slightly whiny voice.

"*Pant* Sure we can *pant*," on the down flap of his wings, he threw two more knives, forcing the penguin to move out of the way. Ovid landed and turned towards his opponent, "But the entire thing is rather short."

The two birds observed each other, Skipper, serious as a heart attack, and Ovid, smirking and forcing back some laughter. The penguins didn't get this guy, he seemed smart, but his behavior would never let you think that.

Marlene gulped, she didn't like the fighting, they were all friends, where was it all supposed to go? She looked away from Skipper and searched for the unconscious Clemens, but her gaze stopped, when it fell upon a butterfly. It was beautiful. The series of events that just occurred made her completely forget about the fact that she was outside the zoo after all. The bright yellow pair of wings, was bathing in the sunlight, and she licked her lips.

"I guess you wouldn't consider playing fair like your friend did?" the penguin asked.

"Actually, you have to define playing fair here. Can the conditions really be optimal for both participants of the battle? And the better question is, how can you determine a sport where the two would be equally matched? And even if you managed to do that, you'd just be allowing luck to be the decisive factor. That's why I'm letting you chose flipper to wing combat while I'll be going with my throwing knives. Does that seem fair to you?"

"Uh," was all that Skipper could utter. He regretted asking the question, "Well you're going down!" he jumped on his belly ad slid forward again. Ovid threw a knife at him, which Skipper anticipated. He quickly jumped back up and caught it. He threw it back, aiming at the neck, but the roadrunner leaned back, dramatically, and let the blade pass above him.

He lifted himself again, chuckling, "Nice try, but-" he was cut off by Skipper, or rather his flipper, which made contact with his forehead. "Oof," he collapsed backwards.

"Two down, one to-" an explosion sent the penguin rolling across the grass.

"SKIPPER!" Marlene called.

"Stay back!" he ordered and looked around. His first thoughts were that he might had stepped on a landmine, but there were no metal remains debris and no charred grass. He looked around and spotted Dmitry with his electronic device in one wing and a needle in the other. He panicked slightly, 'Do they know my weakness? Fish and chips!' he swore in his head.

The bat stuck the needle in his neck and emptied it. He then pulled it out and threw it away. The holes in his wings healed themselves and he focused back on the WEH. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not exactly a fighter," he spoke with a rather dull voice, "but that doesn't mean I won't give you a challenge."

Skipper heard several beeps emanating from the device and then it was like being hit by a truck. He was thrown forward, but got up again as fast as he could and looked around again, "What's your game?" he asked with a serious tone.

"Guild Wars, but I doubt you wanted to know that *beep*"

*Growl* heard the leader from his own gut and jumped to the left. A hole appeared next to him and chunks of dirt were flung into the air. He shielded his eyes, but there was no time, he received his next order and jumped back, then right, right, forward and finally he finished with a backflip. He was breathing hard, this wasn't going well, he was already tired and this dodging was getting him nowhere.

He scanned the ground and spotted a throwing knife from his previous battle. When the next growl came, he threw himself to the right and picked it up. He just needed a second to aim and throw it before even hitting the ground.

Dmitry closed his eyes seeing the flying blade, but he didn't feel anything. He dared to look and found his WEH malfunctioning. "This does not look good," he said. The flying fox quickly tried undoing the straps, fastening the device to him, but it exploded, knocking him out as well.

Skipper's flippers finally fell to his sides and he could relax, or could he? He was knocked over and pinned to the ground. The penguin knew that he didn't have the energy to keep on fighting, the only thing he could do was to look death straight into the eyes and, "MARLENE!" he gasped, it was the otter. She planted several kisses on his beak and then began rubbing her cheek against his chest feathers.

She hugged his chest and he brought up his own flippers and wrapped them around the otter. The two stayed like that for a few minutes before the silence was broken, "Do you think we should leave those two alone?" Skipper's eyes shot open and he lifted himself off the ground, with the otter still in his embrace.

Standing right there, at the edge of the clearing, were Private and the remaining six animals. He shot them a glare, "Oh, so now that the battle's over, you finally decided to show up."

Kowalski rubbed the back of his head, "Well, if you put it that way, that's exactly right, sir."

"Mr. Braniac over here, made us carry this cooling box," commented Sienna.

"It's not a cooling box, it's my De-Gowser 2.0, which we'll use to return Alexander to his former self," snarled the lieutenant.

Skipper had completely forgotten about the reptile, he turned around to where the tree and the medic were supposed to be, but he found surprisingly little water monitor there. Just a severed front claw and a tail, both still held in place by two arrows, "Oh you've got to be-" the captain couldn't finish his thought, because a certain monitor, had knocked him to the ground and already sank his teeth into the bird's side.

"Rico, give me a homerun!" Private ordered, surprisingly fast. The maniac regurgitated his baseball bat and sent the reptile flying, "Kowalski, fire away!" The scientist grabbed the hose to his device and aimed it at the lizard. He shot a blue beam, with a pink spiral in its midst.

The hit was dead on, but Alexander hit the ground seemingly unaffected. Everybody waited in anticipation, except for Marlene who had rushed to Skipper's side.

Marlene looked Skipper over, he was clearly in agony, but he refrained himself from screaming, "Kowalski, we need to help him!" she demanded.

The scientist stepped closer and examined the wound, there a visible infection spreading, "I need the antibiotic!" he ordered.

The badger twins rushed over and began searching the pockets on their belts, "Here," said Stacy, reaching her syringe before her twin.

The captain froze as his eyes were met with the cold metal of the uncapped needle. He wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, but was forced to realize that he lacked the strength to do that. It made things easier for the genius bird, but it also raised questions if his leader could even fight an infection in his current state.

"Please work," whispered Iris, still looking at Alexander.

The reptile finally began moving again, which made everyone smile in relief, and they were even happier when they saw him getting on his hind legs, instead of all four. The raven was overjoyed and was just about to run over to him, when she sensed something, something terribly wrong. Alexander, quickly lifted his head and delivered a petrifying glance.

The expression on his face sent shivers up everybody's spines. His eyes were still the same tone of red as before and there was a wicked grin across his face. "I t-told you to s-stop me," he said with a slightly higher pitched voice. His head twitched to the left twice, "Cause n-now, it's t-too late!" he uttered and let out a psychopathic giggle.

**Hope you like, but seeing this story I'm begging to doubt if I should even let my own OC live. Not one of my better chapters. Hope you still liked it and review!**


	15. Submission

**15 – Submission**

**Pre-last chapter people, thanks for the reviews and enjoy!**

The fuck? What was up with the tone of his voice, the stuttering and the freakish giggling? The animals just stared at the water monitor, who began observing his claws, "Don't worry, you won't thirst for long," he whispered to them.

Private swallowed a lump in his throat, when he heard a groan. He looked in its direction and saw Clemens, the genet, waking up, he rushed over to his side and helped him up, "You have to help us, something went horribly wrong with Alexandah," he told him.

He got the mammal's immediate attention. He looked around and saw the water monitor, "YOU IDIOTS, DO YOU REALISE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?"

He stared into the little penguin's eyes, but Private didn't exactly know how to answer, "Uh, made Alexandah smart again?" he asked. The genet slapped his forehead.

"Clemens, so n-nice of you t-to join us," said the reptile.

The genet pushed the little bird out of the way and stepped closer to his former leader, "Control yourself man, you know you can do it," he spoke confidently.

Alexander cocked his head to the left and kept his grin, "And what if I d-don't want to? What if I d-decide to stay f-free?" he raised his front legs into the air, "Look at the t-things I have accomplished. I'm well over killer and c-conqueror, the only stop left is b-being god." He looked back down at the mammal, "But that p-puts you, as well as t-the rest of the world, on m-my kill list."

Everyone watched in shock. Becky and Stacy backed away slightly and grabbed each other. Sienna stepped closer to Rico and held on to his flipper. Kowalski managed to keep himself from shaking; he knew that predators could smell fear… even though fear does not have a scent. He looked back down at his injured leader, Skipper was running a slight fever, but then again, birds have a higher body temperature than mammals.

The wound, he had received, was still bleeding, but it was nothing serious, due to Rico's rapid response, they avoided anything serious. There were just some feathers missing, together with a small amount of skin.

Marlene watched the lead penguin lying on the floor and grabbed his flipper, tears began escaping her eyes, "Is he going to be ok Kowalski?"

"Don't worry Marlene, Skipper's a hard as titanium and as dense as depleted uranium, nothing could keep him down," the lieutenant reassured.

Private stood behind Clemens, who was still talking to Alexander. The chubby bird covered his beak with his flippers and waited for what's going to happen next. "We'll prevent that from happening," replied the mammal, as calm as possible.

"And j-just how do you p-plan on accomplishing that?"

The genet glanced over to his left and he spotted the three knives lying on the ground, it would only take a scrape to get the job done. He looked back, but found no sign of the water monitor, "Where did he?" he looked back and saw the knives missing.

Clemens scanned the area and he spotted Alexander, standing in front of a tree, he impaled the three blades into the trunk. They went in all the way to the handle and he then turned back, still carrying the deranged look, "You were s-saying?" he asked and let out another hysteric giggle.

The genet growled and revealed his claws. "You couldn't even c-cut warm butter with those things," taunted the lizard. "N-Now these," he raised his claws," these are t-the right tools for c-cutting flesh."

The genet charged towards the monitor, who just waited. Once he reached him, he swung at the reptile's neck, slicing his esophagus. Next he slashed at his gut, the wound also received a kick to it. He finished with a jab to the chest and got his entire right paw into the left lung.

He pulled it out again and was panting, but when he looked into Alexander's eyes, he noticed his expression hadn't changed. The wounds healed themselves, leaving only dried blood, indicating where they once were. "MY TURN!" yelled the water monitor and swung back his right arm, which had a fist formed.

Clemens kept looking at his face, when he noticed something. The mammal's eyes widened and he formed a smile, "Of course," he muttered, just before receiving a punch to the ribcage. He felt a terrible pain and was sent flying. He landed just a few inches away from Skipper, who was slowly waking up.

Clemens noticed and he quickly crawled up to him. "Skipper, Skipper! Can you hear me?" he gently slapped the penguin's cheeks.

The captain's eyes shot open fully and he grabbed the paw, "Whatever you're trying to tell me, it'll have to wait. We'll follow your leader's orders and put him out of his misery first." He got up and looked around. Skipper saw the water monitor standing on his hind legs and smiled, "Oh, I see you managed to cure him. I guess we can forget about the plan then."

"No Skipper, you're wrong," said Marlene, "He's talking about killing us all."

"I agree with her, It's the only way," added Kowalski.

"No it's not!" Clemens received everyone's attention.

"But you're the one who wanted to-" Skipper began, but was cut off.

"I only followed orders, but now I think we could get him back."

The captain got on his own feet again. A sharp pain struck him in his side and he grabbed the area. He looked down and saw the wound. "Explain soldier, what's your plan?" he asked the genet.

"I noticed two things, first of all, he punched me, instead of cutting me, with his right, I repeat, his right claw, and second, right before he punched me, I saw a twitch in his eye, his left eye, LEFT… EYE," Clemens dramatically explained. But it was all met with silence.

"Can't you see it, the left side of his face and the right side of his body, are both linked to the logical left brain hemisphere. He's trying to regain control, all we have to do is give him the time he needs."

"Very well then," Skipper turned around and began waddling towards the reptile. He was quickly stopped by Clemens and Kowalski who grabbed him by the flippers. "Let me go, I can do it!" the leader screamed, while struggling to get out of the hold.

"No you can't Skipper," Kowalski gave the flipper a strong tug, which made the lead bird lose his balance, and he fell on his back.

Skipper jumped back up and grabbed his lieutenant by the chest feathers, "Someone has to stop him and I'm not willing to sacrifice any more men," he yelled. Something rushed past him. He heard it and turned around. Standing there, just a meter away from the water monitor and growling angrily, was a brown-furred figure.

Skipper let go of the taller penguin and turned around, "Marlene… is that you?" he asked.

The figure turned his head and he saw the feral side of his girlfriend. She turned back towards the reptile, "Is the g-girl going to f-fight me next?" Alexander asked, "P-p-pathetic."

Marlene let out a growl and pounced on the lizard. He was caught off guard and was thrown to the ground immediately. She began throwing punches at his face, but the water monitor barely moved when he received them. He played her game for a minute until he decided he had enough. He caught her fist, "Bitch got game," he remarked and then rolled over.

He got on top of her and held Marlene down, "Now now m-miss, it will all b-be over s-soon."

She used her hind legs to throw her opponent off of her and once he hit the ground, she rushed to him and grabbed his tail. Marlene swung him up, above her head, and wanted to slam him against the ground, but Alexander hit the ground with all four legs instead of his stomach. He sunk his claws into the ground and turned the tables on the otter.

He lifted his tail, raising Marlene, who was still holding on to it, and slammed her against the grass. Alexander stood up and looked down upon her. The fight was clearly over, she wasn't getting up any time soon and he was about to make sure of it. He swung back his right claw, aiming at her neck. "D-don't worry, just f-fall asleep."

Everybody's eyes widened and they burst into a sprint. They had to stop the reptile before he made contact. Skipper slid on his belly, a tear escaping his eyes, as the mirror image of the scene unfolding, shows us Alexander, striking Marlene.

**Will Marlene survive? Will I kill Alexander in the end? Is this going to be my last story? This and many other questions will be answered in – NO, no fucking cliffhangers. I hate those things and I'm not putting them here. Read on!**

Skipper came to a stop, with a shocked expression on his face, his beak was slightly agape and he could only mutter the name of the otter, "Marlene…"

The reptile let out another hysteric giggle and then stood up straight. He turned around so everyone could see his face. At his eye-level was his right claw, covered in dirt. His left eye began twitching rapidly and his head cocked to the left again. "I m-must not d-do this," me muttered and closed his eyes.

Everybody figured out that Marlene was still alive since there was no blood, but what was happening now, was anybody's guess.

Alexander's eyes opened slowly and they were once again the dark brown they used to be. "I failed," he spoke. Iris broke through the crowd and hugged him.

"You're back, you're finally back," she spoke in awe, but he wasn't returning the embrace. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He pushed her out of the way a rushed right through the animals in front of him. They watched where he was going. Skipper's eyes widened, "No, don't!" he yelled.

Alexander reached his destination, a tree, well not a tree, the tree, where he left the knives. He grabbed one and pulled it out with ease. He placed his free claw on the tree trunk and impaled the blade right through it. "May our atoms meet again," he said.

…**No, it's still not as bad-ass as seppuku, but I guess it'll have to do. Looks like I lied, this is a cliffhanger. Review!**


	16. We Are What We Hide

**16 – We Are What We Hide**

…**enjoy!**

Alexander impaled the knife through his claw. It was too serious of a matter for him to enjoy the pain. He watched the wound as the scales around it began shriveling and turning to charcoal. There was an unmistakable scent of burned flesh filling his nostrils. The coagulation process began spreading up his arm. He just let out a sigh and watched the show.

But the performance was "cut short" for him… literally. Skipper rushed in for the save. He kicked Alexander to the side and then, using an axe, courtesy of Rico, he swung at the appendage. The water monitor let out a grunt in pain as the first strike left a wide gash, together with some crushed bones. The lead penguin quickly made two more strikes before finally severing the leg.

The reptile fell on his back, panting and he looked at the tree. He saw the remains of his front leg as it completely turned into charcoal. He looked at the stub he was left with and saw the regeneration process already commencing. "*Sigh* Why did you save me?" he asked.

"It's what we do," Skipper replied coldly and offered a flipper.

Alexander took it and stood up. "What happens next?" he asked.

"Under normal circumstances you would be court-martialed," the captain replied.

"But…?"

"Since there isn't an official judge here, the case file will be sent to a higher military court, but who knows," Skipper shrugged, "Things happen and the letter could get lost in the post."

The lizard smirked, "Oh that's right, you let me out. You can't report this even if you wanted to."

The leader narrowed his eyes, "Don't get cocky soldier, we can clear things right here and now. I'm letting you off the hook, because it wasn't you fault, you clearly weren't yourself back there."

"You have no idea how wrong you are," he grumbled.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. I would like to request some time off. There are some things I have to think about."

"Very well, then I'm temporarily suspending you."

Alexander saluted to the leader and Skipper gave him a "dismissed" nod. The reptile left the clearing and returned to the reptile house. The remaining animals waited a little and then followed suit. The walk was long and silent; no one was really in the mood for talking. Marlene, Dmitry and Ovid were carried back since they were all still unconscious and Skipper refused all the help he was offered with carrying the brown otter, in spite of his own injuries.

The flying fox and roadrunner woke up later that day inside the HQ. "So is he back now?" the flying mammal asked.

"Yes, he's back to his old normal self," replied the leader.

"If you can consider it normal," remarked the genet.

"Well he is a tad strange, but his heart is in the right place… right?" the Private asked.

Rico replied with a so-so gesture with his wing.

"What are our next actions going to be Skipper?" the scientist asked.

"It would probably be best if we let him cool down a little before doing anything else. I'm sure he'll return once he's done meditating." He then turned towards the Bronx team, "What about you guys, are you staying for the night? I'm sure he'd appreciate a shrink."

"It won't work," Clemens replied. "He hides his true self so well that no shrink has ever managed to decode his personality."

"Well we could do the thing he suggested," Ovid said.

"What's that?" Skipper asked.

"Let's just say it involves an electric power drill and a funnel," the genet answered. "Well, we should probably go now, it's a long ride home and we still have to load the air pressure cannon."

Right then Marlene burst through the hatch, with her usual wide smile. "Hey guys!" she greeted and was greeted back. She walked up to Skipper and gave him a peck on the beak, before turning to Kowalski. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, and I will try my hardest to compose the accurate answer."

"Why didn't I go feral the moment I landed outside the zoo?"

The genius bird scratched his bottom beak, "Did you eat anything that could affect your brain chemistry?"

"Not that I know of, but I did continue taking the drug, which was supposed to help me, could it have been a delayed effect?"

"Maybe it was the adrenaline," suggested Clemens.

"Of course, the vast amount of the hormone epinephrine, which was released due to the survival instinct kicking in, combined with the lamotrigine, must have worked together in preventing an immediate reaction to leaving the zoo grounds," the genius bird explained.

"Is that even possible?" Private asked.

"Probably not, but it's the best I can come up with," Kowalski replied.

"Ok, then, see ya," the Bronx team left the HQ and was soon on its way back to their own zoo.

Meanwhile, in front of the water monitor exhibit, stood a raven, which was just typing in the code to unlock the terrarium. The glass swung open and she flew in. Iris looked to her right and noticed a smashed keyboard. "Better leave it open," she commented and proceeded to where the secret door was located.

She pushed it aside and hopped down the stairs into the lover levels. She moved as quietly as possible, listening in on every room, trying to find the water monitor. The last place she checked was the infirmary, but there was no sign of life there either.

Suddenly she felt something grab her and lift her off her feet. Whoever it was, held her so that she couldn't flap her wings. Next came something hard that pressed against her neck. "The object I have on your throat is an obsidian-edged scalpel. I would suggest you refrain from struggling or else things might get… bloody."

"ALEXANDER IT'S ME!" she yelled and immediately felt the grip loosen. She fell to the ground and looked back. It was dark in the hallway, but she could see the vague outlines of the reptile. He walked to the wall and then into the infirmary. Iris followed him in silence. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"I t-thought you needed someone to talk to."

The lizard let out a sigh. He was still facing the bird with his back, "You're afraid of me, aren't you?"

Iris was caught off guard, "N-no, well… I did see the things you did… but you were reverted to your primal self, it wasn't your fault."

"Is that what Kowalski's telling everyone, or was it Clemens' theory? No, definitely Kowalski's, Clemens knows the truth more or less."

"What truth?"

The water monitor turned around and Iris gasped when she saw his face. He had no eyes, there were just crimson trail running from the sockets, indicating that he had removed them. "Wha-what, why did you do that?" she asked in shock.

"What if I told you that I was aware of everything that happened in the last two days?" he made a step forward, while Iris backed away.

"What if I told you that I remember my every action, every kill?" he made another step, but the raven couldn't go further back, because she had already reached the wall. He stretched out his front legs and pinned the girl to the wall by the wings. He brought his head down to her level.

Iris observed his eye sockets and saw new eyeballs forming in them. He blinked a few times and it was over. He was staring at her with his dark brown eyes, smirking. "What if I told you… that I enjoyed taking the lives of every single one of my victims?" he asked.

"Would you be afraid of me then?" he let go of her and turned around.

Iris wanted to answer, but for some reason, she stopped herself. She flew right out of the base, leaving the medic alone.

He walked over to a tape recorder and pressed the "REC" button." Test run of the regeneration inhibitor was interrupted. Attempting another one," he stopped the recording and walked over to a stopwatch, which he reset, and then grabbed a syringe. He injected himself with its contents, pressed the "Start" button, and then walked over to a mirror.

He took a deep breath and brought his claws up to his head. "In the name of science," he said and with the help of his sharp claws, he tore out his eyeballs. He threw the seeing organs to the side and braced himself against the wall, panting.

About fifteen minutes later, the regeneration occurred and he could once again see. He walked over to the stopwatch and read the time. "Perfect," he said and grabbed another syringe. He spoke to the tape recorder, "Regeneration inhibitor test run was a success. I will now be performing an autoamygdalectomy. In case anybody stumbles upon my notes, and tdoesn't know what that is, it is the removal of the amygdala performed by oneself on himself."

He brought a chair to the mirror and sat in it. "I will not be using any sedatives or painkillers, because I mustn't dull my senses in an important surgery like this." He injected himself with another shot of the inhibitor and quickly removed his right eye. "I will be performing this surgery on," he pressed his claw to the edge of the eye socket and slowly pulled it back across his scales, "one brain hemisphere at a time," he pressed the same claw on the top of the skull and slowly dragged it down to the socket, "due to obvious reasons… namely being blind if I did it simultaneously on both sides."

Blood was already running from the cuts, but he ignored it. Alexander grabbed the scales and peeled them back, revealing his bloody cranium. He grabbed a flask of pure ethanol and poured it over the bone. He clenched his teeth due to the burning sensation, but shook it off. "I am hoping that by removing the emotional centers, I will grow new ones, which won't be faulty like the ones I currently posses, and will allow me to make use of the entire emotional spectrum."

He now took a device similar to an angle grinder and started it, "And now for the fun part," he brought the spinning blade to his cranium and felt the vibration travelling through his bones, across his entire body. Bone dust filled the air, but he continued.

**Here we are, at the end. Don't worry, he'll survive the procedure, but I think that this ending is pushing me into writing a spiritual story next. Don't know if I can do it, or if I want to do it, but maybe I will. Either way, this definitely won't be my last story, hope you enjoyed it and leave a review!**


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